5 Possible challengers for Shinsuke Nakamura's United States Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura is not a fighting champion.
And that's okay.
After all, he's supposed to be a hated heel. Heels don't defend their championships. They don't hold open challenges. However, the United States Championship has been a bit of a curse recently. Unlike its RAW counterpart, the Intercontinental Championship, it seems to drag down rather than elevate its holder. Baron Corbin, Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode, and Jeff Hardy were all better off without it.
Shinsuke Nakamura is too good, too talented, and too entertaining to just sit on the sidelines. He needs to be on my screen, low-blowing opponents. The joy he feels when doing so is infectious.
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There are a few logistical problems preventing that from occurring. Firstly, Smackdown Live has a dearth of credible babyfaces; R-Truth is the number four babyface on the brand. Shinsuke doesn't have any credible opponents. Daniel Bryan is otherwise occupied, and he has already faced Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles.
The obvious solution would be to turn Shinsuke Nakamura babyface, but he has only just turned heel, and his feud with A.J. Styles showed that he has only scraped the surface of what he can achieve as a heel.
The solution is obvious: Paige needs to force him to defend his championship.
And these five men would make fine challengers.
#5 Xavier Woods
This match would be worth it just to watch the promos, backstage segments, and contract signings. Can you imagine Kofi Kingston's alter ego, Kramer Kingman, interviewing Shinsuke Nakamura backstage? How about the glee on Nakamura's face after knocking over the New Day's pancakes? Magic.
The fact that the match itself would likely be excellent; Xavier is one of the best in the business at playing the babyface in peril, and Shinsuke's style is ideally suited to playing the vicious heel, is an added bonus.
Oh, and if you needed any more convincing, just imagine Xavier selling the inevitable low blow.