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What's the story?
After WWE confirmed this week that Shinsuke Nakamura was injured and unable to compete on SmackDown Live, many questions were raised - including that of his appearance for WWE in Japan.
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Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer confirmed Nakamura's injury to be a result of a police dog biting his leg but the severity of the injury was not yet known.
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Well, Nakamura appeared at WWE's Live event last night but, while he didn't wrestle and appeared on crutches, it wasn't all bad news for fans of the King of Strong Style.
.In case you didn't know...
Nakamura was scheduled to face Jeff Hardy on Tuesday in an attempt to win his first main roster WWE gold but the match was scrapped last minute due to injury and Hardy instead faced Eric Young before the match descended into chaos and a six-man tag match was made instead between SAnitY and Jeff Hardy & The Usos.
WWE didn't go into detail on the injury but the Wrestling Observer noted that Nakamura didn't work SmackDown's Monday night house show in Bakersfield, California, with Dave Meltzer confirming that the Japanese star was bit in the leg by a police dog at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield the day before.
The King of Strong Style took on AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania in a dream match before turning on his former friend to set up a rivalry that culminated in a Last Man Standing Match at Money In The Bank where The Phenomenal One emerged victorious.
The champion, Jeff Hardy, won the United States Championship on the first Raw after the Superstar Shake-up when he defeated Jinder Mahal, taking the title over to SmackDown the following night.
The heart of the matter
Nakamura was one of the featured stars for the Smackdown Live event in Tokyo, Japan, but he was not able to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship as planned.
Instead, Nakamura appeared using a crutch and cut a promo before being interrupted by Samoa Joe who demanded he get Nakamura's title shot.
Joe then put Nakamura in the Coquina Clutch before Styles made the save. The match was set, though, and Joe took on The Phenomenal One, with Styles retaining the title.
You can see some fan footage of the interaction below.
What's next?
Well, while Nakamura on a crutch and not competing isn't necessarily good news, the fact that Joe put him in the Coquina Clutch suggests the injury may not be too serious.
We'll keep you updated on this as and when we know more.
What do you think about Nakamura's role in the Japan show? Let us know in the comments.
