Shinsuke Nakamura gets what he wants from Seth Rollins

After knocking Seth Rollins’ head off at the end of the Aug. 7 WWE Raw, Shinsuke Nakamura received some time on Aug. 14 to justify his actions. “The King of Strong Style” mostly explained himself in Japanese and made it clear that he planned to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship.

This beckoned Rollins, the champion, to the ring. He did his usual schtick before challenging Nakamura to a title match, which Nakamura accepted with a tentative handshake. During this gentleman’s agreement, though, Nakamura whispered something to Rollins that unsettled “The Visionary”.

It unnerved Rollins so much that it left him vulnerable for another Kinshasa knee strike from the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion.

Shinsuke Nakamura gets what he’s looking for.

Neither Rollins nor Nakamura announced a date for this anticipated clash, but most fans expect it to take place at September’s Payback pay-per-view, WWE’s first B-show of the year on United States soil. With Roman Reigns expected to take some time off following SummerSlam and Jey Uso quitting the company (in-storyline), WWE doesn’t have many options for a main event match, so putting Rollins vs. Nakamura in that spot makes sense.

It also gives the promotion a chance to elevate the months-old World Heavyweight Title. Rollins has done a solid job establishing the new belt through quality title defenses, but most still see it as a consolation prize. Headlining a show like Payback won’t change that perception overnight, but it’s a start.

The match’s relative freshness (Rollins and Nakamura have only faced each other on PPV twice and not since 2021) should help build anticipation for the match, as will the speculation over what Nakamura whispered to Rollins. The champion will probably divulge that information next week, so hopefully, we’ll learn something that adds an interesting wrinkle to this dream encounter.

WWE has already done a good job putting heat on the challenger. Let’s see if that continues.