5 Superstars that could challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Title

#2 Buddy Murphy

Buddy Murphy would be a great opponent for Shinsuke Nakamura

Buddy Murphy might have come up short against Roman Reigns on SmackDown Live, but he took the former champion to his absolute limit in the process. It even felt like a sort of passing of the torch moment, making Murphy both a force to be reckoned with and someone WWE sees potential in.

Whether that lasts or not is going to be interesting to watch over the next couple of weeks, but he would be a great opponent for Shinsuke Nakamura given their respective skillsets. WWE could even let Murphy beat Nakamura, win the IC title and then go on to have a run as a solid midcarder for awhile.

In the end, if Buddy Murphy is as big a deal as WWE is trying to make him out to be, they are going to devote a lot of time to him. Another thing they will likely do is try to get him into a title picture relatively quickly, which will be a good way to show fans that Murphy is indeed the next big thing.