5 reasons why Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev for the United States champion

#2 Gets fans behind Rusev

Will Rusev's loss result in the WWE Universe getting behind him more?

Sympathy - that's a key way to get fans behind a particular superstar and it seems like that is exactly what WWE's intention was with Rusev losing the United States title to Shinsuke Nakamura. Of course, maybe that's not the result the WWE Universe wanted, but this could just be a means to an end, which would make it all worth it

For example, Rusev looked very sympathetic in defeat and it's only going to make fans feel like he was robbed during the match. If nothing else, it's going to create a very powerful wave of support for Rusev, make Nakamura look like an absolute villain, and maybe even breath some life into this feud

All in all, the way the feud between Rusev and Nakamura was before wasn't working at all. It had nothing going for it and was based on some very lackluster booking. At least now, WWE seems to have injected some emotion into the mix, which will hopefully prove to pay dividends as the weeks go on.