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WWE WrestleMania 34 was an event full of surprises, with Asuka losing her undefeated streak to Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns failing to defeat Brock Lesnar, but arguably the biggest surprise came when Shinsuke Nakamura turned heel on AJ Styles.
“The King of Strong Style” has been a popular babyface ever since he signed with WWE in 2016 and nobody expected him to attack the WWE champion following their “dream match” in New Orleans.
In this article, we take a look at five ways that WWE could decide to book the 2018 Royal Rumble winner moving forward.
#5 AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura headlines Backlash
It’s fair to say that the much-anticipated WrestleMania match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura didn’t quite live up to the hype, and one would imagine that both performers would relish the chance to put that right with another match in the not-too-distant future.
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Technically, Nakamura should move to the back of the line in his pursuit of the WWE Championship (he lost yet another title match, so why should he get a rematch?), but this is sports entertainment we’re talking about, so there’s every chance he’ll get another shot at the gold soon.
Besides, WWE has made a habit of building their post-WrestleMania plans around a featured mega match at the next PPV, and a heel Nakamura going after a babyface Styles at Backlash should surpass what we saw at ‘Mania.
#4 Move from SmackDown Live to Raw
WWE has been known to swap titles between brands before, with the most recent example coming in 2017 when Dean Ambrose took the Intercontinental Championship to Raw after WrestleMania 33 and Kevin Owens moved to SmackDown Live with the United States Championship.
It would be a bold move by Vince McMahon & Co. to switch Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship to the blue brand, with AJ Styles and the WWE Championship heading in the other direction, but stranger things have happened in past WWE drafts and Superstar Shake-Ups, so you just never know.
If that does happen, then expect to see Nakamura move to Raw with Styles to continue their WWE title rivalry, much like Ambrose and The Miz did last year when they were feuding over the IC title.
#3 Winning streak
For Shinsuke Nakamura to be taken seriously as a heel, he has to start winning more matches – something WWE only tends to do for a short time with new bad guys before they begin to lose again.
“The King of Strong Style” picked up some statement victories as a main-roster babyface, most notably against John Cena and Randy Orton, but he failed when it mattered most in his WWE Championship matches against Jinder Mahal and AJ Styles.
The defeats to Jinder significantly harmed Nakamura’s aura, as did his underwhelming PPV rivalries with Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin, so WWE would be wise to have him build up a winning streak as a heel in the weeks and months to come.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura aligns with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn’s futures in WWE are in limbo after they were defeated by Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 34, meaning they didn't win back their jobs on SmackDown Live, and then they failed to earn Raw contracts in a singles match the night after 'Mania.
Assuming they are either drafted to Raw or reinstated to SmackDown by a new management team in next week's Superstar Shake-Up, Owens and Zayn will need to get back on track post-WrestleMania after coming up short in each of the last three PPVs.
WWE could do a lot worse than have them recruit Shinsuke Nakamura, forming a villainous faction to feud with the likes of the Balor Club and, when Dean Ambrose returns, even The Shield.
#1 Daniel Bryan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
In the short-term, it’s pretty clear that Shinsuke Nakamura still has his sights set on AJ Styles. In the long-term, however, there would be no better babyface vs. heel match in WWE than Daniel Bryan vs. Nakamura.
“The King of Strong Style” is going to be one of WWE’s most despised heels in the weeks to come after what he did to Styles at WrestleMania, while “The Leader of the Yes Movement” is as popular as ever following his much-celebrated return from injury.
No matter what brand they’re on, and no matter what title (if any) is at stake, Bryan vs. Nakamura is a match that is destined to happen at some point within the next couple of years, so here’s hoping they remain on the same brand next week and the rivalry happens sooner rather than later!
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