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Shinsuke Nakamura is not a fighting champion.
And that's okay.
After all, he's supposed to be a hated heel. Heels don't defend their championships. They don't hold open challenges. However, the United States Championship has been a bit of a curse recently. Unlike its RAW counterpart, the Intercontinental Championship, it seems to drag down rather than elevate its holder. Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode, and Jeff Hardy were all better off without it.
Shinsuke Nakamura is too good, too talented, and too entertaining to just sit on the sidelines. He needs to be on my screen, low-blowing opponents. The joy he feels when doing so is infectious.
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There are a few logistical problems preventing that from occurring. Firstly, Smackdown Live has a dearth of credible babyfaces; R-Truth is the number four babyface on the brand. Shinsuke doesn't have any credible opponents. Daniel Bryan is otherwise occupied, and he has already faced Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles.
The obvious solution would be to turn Shinsuke Nakamura babyface, but he has only just turned heel, and his feud with A.J. Styles showed that he has only scraped the surface of what he can achieve as a heel.
The solution is obvious: Paige needs to force him to defend his championship.
And these five men would make fine challengers.
#5 Xavier Woods
This match would be worth it just to watch the promos, backstage segments, and contract signings. Can you imagine Kofi Kingston's alter ego, Kramer Kingman, interviewing Shinsuke Nakamura backstage? How about the glee on Nakamura's face after knocking over the New Day's pancakes? Magic.
The fact that the match itself would likely be excellent; Xavier is one of the best in the business at playing the babyface in peril, and Shinsuke's style is ideally suited to playing the vicious heel, is an added bonus.
Oh, and if you needed any more convincing, just imagine Xavier selling the inevitable low blow.
#4 Rusev
I can see it already.
Shinsuke Nakamura viciously attacks Aiden English after defeating him.
The Lion of Bulgaria storms out to save his friend.
Paige books a United States Championship match....on Rusev Day.
These two have proven that they have good chemistry; their Fastlane match earlier this year was surprisingly good.
I know that I would be elated if this match took place.
#3 R-Truth
R-Truth is 46 years old.
You wouldn't know it if you saw his main-event match against The Miz last week.
He has always been an outrageously entertaining character, and he proved last week that he can still wrestle at a very very high level.
Having spent weeks trying to pin Carmella to gain a United States Championship match, he entered a truce of sorts with her last week. Perhaps R-Truth has realized that she makes a better ally than opponent he will never be allowed to face? Perhaps it was due to a mutual dislike of the Miz and Maryse. It doesn't matter; the fact remains that they are a team for the foreseeable future, and will compete on Season Two of WWE's Mixed Match Challenge.
R-Truth is an excellent candidate to face Shinsuke Nakamura; he is over with the crowd, fun to watch in the ring, and has been chasing the United States Championship for a while. His only fault? Going about getting a match in the wrong way.
But no matter, perhaps Carmella can help get R-Truth a United States Championship match if only to prevent him from challenging her to a match again.
#2 Mustafa Ali
205 Live is no longer a priority; that much is certain. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is even less of a priority than it was before. No matter the phrasing, it appears to be a sinking ship.
It has already been moved to Wednesdays.
Drake Maverick, the babyface General Manager of the brand, is also the heel manager of AOP.
Lio Rush, irritant heel, is also the babyface manager of Bobby Lashley.
The message is clear; what happens on 205 Live is secondary to what happens on RAW.
Why not extend that to Smackdown Live as well?
WWE seems less reticent to allow the 205 Live Roster to interact with the rest of the Superstars; 205 Live's Drew Gulak was part of the group of heels that beat down the SHIELD a few weeks ago.
Mustafa Ali is not only an incredible athlete, but he has also carved out a well-rounded character for himself as well. The promos he shot before his Wrestlemania 34 title match were incredible; even if you had never watched a single moment of 205 Live, you could not help but root for him after watching them.
He is too well-rounded a performer to be wasted on 205 Live.
He doesn't need to beat Shinsuke Nakamura, but a pay-per-view championship match is an excellent way to cement him as a main roster player.
And you just know that the match itself would be excellent
Finn Balor
Shinsuke Nakamura needs a credible babyface challenger.
Finn Balor is being absolutely wasted on RAW.
A feud between these two would elevate the championship, provide fantastic matches, and give both men something relevant to do.
It's a no-brainer.
