5 Reasons why Rusev wrestling Shinsuke Nakamura is a classic rivalry in the making

Two of the most entertaining yet underappreciated Superstars in all of professional wrestling today, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, were involved in an extremely interesting segment on this week's episode of SmackDown Live (November 27th, 2018).

The reigning WWE United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura, was scheduled to face Rusev in a non-title matchup on SmackDown Live, and it was "The Artist" who made his entrance first. With Nakamura waiting in his corner, Rusev came down to the ring and looked to the hard camera side -- doing his usual entrance pose by ripping off his "Rusev Day" tank top.

Nakamura took advantage of that, and knocked Rusev down, with a brutal kick to the back of "The Bulgarian Brute's" head. The Japanese megastar then proceeded to hit a badly stunned Rusev with a Kinshasa -- sending the latter outside the ring. The Japanese phenom's assault didn't stop there though, as he attacked Rusev with another Kinshasa, this time outside the ring!

Needless to say, "The Artist" vs. "The Bulgarian Brute" is the next big feud on SmackDown Live, and today, we take a closer look at a select few factors which prove that Rusev taking on Shinsuke Nakamura is a classic rivalry in the making...

---

#5 Rusev is adding some much-needed excitement to Shinsuke Nakamura's relatively ho-hum US Title reign

A feud with Rusev could help bring some much-needed zing to Shinsuke Nakamura's relatively lackluster US Title reign

Shinsuke Nakamura faced Jeff Hardy at the Extreme Rules PPV (July 15th, 2018), and with the United States Championship on the line, Nakamura pulled out all the stops -- savagely hitting Hardy with a nasty low blow, and striking "The Charismatic Enigma's" head with a beautiful Kinshasa, to secure the pinfall victory.

Understandably, most of us were very excited to see Nakamura win his first WWE main roster title, but the weeks that followed were quite disappointing, to say the least.

Nakamura successfully defended his US Title against Hardy at the SummerSlam PPV (August 19th, 2018), and then lost to Hardy via Disqualification due to Outside Interference by Randy Orton in a non-title match on SmackDown Live (September 11th, 2018).

Following that, Nakamura's next title defense came against Rusev on SmackDown Live (September 18th, 2018), after which Nakamura lost a non-title match to Rey Mysterio at SmackDown 1000 (October 16th, 2018). However, Nakamura bounced back by once again by successfully defending his title against R-Truth on SmackDown Live (October 30th, 2018), and by beating Rusev in a US Title match at the Crown Jewel event (November 2nd, 2018).

Unfortunately, Nakamura lost his momentum again, after he was beaten "clean" by the RAW brand's Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins at the Survivor Series PPV (November 18th, 2018).

Let's face it, Nakamura's reign as the United States Champion has been quite ho-hum thus far, and what he desperately needs right now, is a meaningful storyline and a feud with one top SmackDown Live Superstar -- in this case, Rusev -- rather than randomly being booked against different Superstars every week...

#4 WWE could book Rusev's former "Rusev Day" teammate, Aiden English, as Shinsuke Nakamura's manager

Aiden English (left) could help Shinsuke Nakamura against Rusev

On the September 26th, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live, the WWE Universe was officially introduced to "Rusev Day", when an elaborate ceremony was held in the middle of the ring -- as Rusev was given the key to the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which happens to be his hometown!

Aiden English was present in the ring when Rusev was handed the key to his city by an older gentleman, and it was at the end of the ceremony that English performed a beautiful song on "Rusev Day". Well, although the fans booed them, and the song was cut short by Randy Orton -- who delivered RKOs to both English and Rusev -- "Rusev Day" went on to become one of the most popular acts in all of professional wrestling in the months that followed.

The Bulgarian Brute's wife Lana eventually joined the Rusev Day team, however, English left Rusev Day after turning heel and attacking Rusev on the September 18th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live. In the days that followed, Rusev and English were involved in a nasty feud, which saw English make false allegations against Lana -- claiming that on a fateful night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lana cheated on Rusev with him!

However, video evidence eventually proved that English was lying, and Rusev ended his feud with "The Drama King" by defeating him on the October 9th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live.

The reason I narrated English's history with Rusev, is because Shinsuke Nakamura isn't really comfortable at cutting promos in the English language, but English is excellent at delivering promos in English (pun intended!).

The WWE would definitely be looking at the possibility of pairing English with Nakamura, as The Artist's manager and mouthpiece, in order to cut promos against "Naka's" opponent Rusev. After all, you know what they say -- "Your best friend can turn out to be your worst enemy" -- and English could definitely hurt his former friend Rusev, by helping out Nakamura...

#3 Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura's respective wrestling styles match perfectly

Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura's respective wrestling styles are an excellent match for one another

There's an old saying in the fight game -- "Styles make fights"...For example, in the UFC: Brock Lesnar brutally knocked out Frank Mir, Mir knocked out Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Silva knocked out Alistair Overeem, and Overeem absolutely destroyed Brock Lesnar with liver kicks and knees...Crazy stuff, right?

Well, that's because anything can happen in a fight, and even in the world of sports-entertainment, the WWE Superstars' respective wrestling styles, determine how the match will turn out to be.

It's very important for us to understand here that Rusev's powerhouse brawling style of wrestling, matches perfectly with Shinsuke Nakamura's calculated "Strong Style" grappling. It's like a fight between a strong bear (Rusev) and a ruthless wolf (Nakamura).

Rusev and Nakamura have faced each other a few times before, and their in-ring chemistry seems to be excellent. Therefore, as far as the in-ring wrestling department is concerned, this feud is already on the right path...

#2 Rusev feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura is a welcome change, after the repetitive American Babyface vs. Evil Foreign Heel feuds

Rusev feuding with Shinsuke Nakamura is a welcome change, after witnessing the stereotypical Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton feud for a better part of 2017

This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why the feud between Rusev and Nakamura has the potential to become one of the most entertaining rivalries of this era.

Remember when Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at the Backlash PPV (May 21st, 2017)? Well, what followed was a boring, stereotypical feud between the "Evil Foreign Heel" (Mahal) and the "American Babyface" (Orton).

Professional wrestling has seen several feuds like this over the years, and although this "Evil Foreign Heel" vs. "American Babyface" storyline may have worked during the Hulk Hogan era in the 1980s, today's fans have grown sick and tired of watching the same storyline being repeated a million times!

Considering that, the feud between reigning United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura who is Japanese, against the challenger Rusev who is from Bulgaria, is a welcome change on SmackDown Live and in professional wrestling as a whole...Speaking of which...

#1 The WWE is finally using Rusev's babyface popularity against Shinsuke Nakamura's heel notoriety

Babyface Rusev against a heel Nakamura is what's best for business

Honestly speaking, the vast majority of professional wrestling fans and experts were quite upset when Aiden English turned heel on Rusev, and left Rusev Day. In the ensuing days, the general consensus was that with English having left the team, the Rusev Day gimmick will die a slow and painful death.

Regardless, thanks to Rusev's wife Lana, "The Lion of Bulgaria" still has a teammate who has helped him keep the spirit of Rusev Day alive. That said, the fact that Rusev is incredibly over as a babyface with the WWE Universe, just goes to show that the fans do indeed recognize this man's hard work!

With that in mind, it seems as though the WWE is finally realizing the stupendous potential and incredible brand value of Rusev as a babyface on SmackDown Live, and resultantly, they've now pitted him against none other than Shinsuke Nakamura.

Just like Rusev, Nakamura too is presently incredibly over with the WWE Universe, albeit as a heel and not as a babyface. Considering that, a feud between these two Superstars -- who just so happen to be excellent in-ring performers as well -- is the perfect rivalry for the WWE's blue brand right now.

Would you like to see Rusev defeat Shinsuke Nakamura, and become a 3-time WWE United States Champion? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below!