"He's more than capable of being the WWE Universal Champion" - AJ Styles makes a major prediction about top SmackDown star

In a recent appearance on WWE's The Bump, AJ Styles gave his thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura being a potential Universal Champion in the future.

Shinsuke Nakamura was impressive during the Gauntlet match on SmackDown but he was eventually mugged out of his title shot by Roman Reigns and Jey Uso.

AJ Styles was a guest on WWE's The Bump this week. During the appearance, he was asked about Shinsuke Nakamura's impressive performance in the Gauntlet match on SmackDown and if he thought Nakamura had a chance of winning the WWE Universal Championship. Styles put over Nakamura as an elite competitor and someone who was more than capable of winning the WWE Universal Championship:

"Listen, he's more than capable of doing what needs to be done to be the Universal Champion. I know him and I know him well. The guy can get after it. There's no doubt that this guy is legit. He's not just some guy from Japan. He's more than just that. He's Shinsuke Nakamura. He's unbelievable and he's been unbelievable wherever he's been, so like I said, he's more than capable of being the WWE Universal Champion."

"He's more than capable of being the #UniversalChampion." - @AJStylesOrg on @ShinsukeN's performance last week on #SmackDown #WWETheBump pic.twitter.com/gYy4EFL7kb

— WWE’s The Bump (@WWETheBump) January 13, 2021

Incredible performance from Shinsuke Nakamura on WWE SmackDown last Friday

Shinsuke Nakamura put in an incredible performance during the Gauntlet match on SmackDown last Friday, which determined the new No. 1 contender for Roman Reigns' Universal Championship.

Nakamura came in third after Rey Mysterio eliminated Sami Zayn. Nakamura then eliminated Rey Mysterio, forcing him to tap out to an armbar. King Corbin was the next man in and Nakamura persevered, pinning Corbin after hitting him with a Kinshasa. Nakamura then successfully beat Daniel Bryan.

𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬@ShinsukeN | #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/zGWFAx23R1

— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) January 9, 2021

The only man left after this in the Gauntlet match was WWE official Adam Pearce who was being forced to compete by Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns. Pearce was flanked by Reigns, Uso, and Heyman. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso then attacked Nakamura and laid him out.

Jey Uso then caught Adam Pearce with a Superkick and piled him on top of Nakamura, with Reigns forcing the referee to make the count. Adam Pearce is currently the man set to face Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view later this month.

If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to SK Wrestling.