5 Reasons why Shinsuke Nakamura turned babyface on WWE SmackDown this week
Shinsuke Nakamura may not have won the Gauntlet match in the WWE SmackDown main event, but he certainly was the star of the entire show.
Not only did Shinsuke Nakamura eliminate Rey Mysterio, but also King Corbin and Daniel Bryan. He even shook Daniel Bryan's hand, effectively becoming a babyface in the process.
What could have been the motivation to turn Shinsuke Nakamura babyface, especially if you consider that he has been a heel for so very long? Here are a few explanations for the same.
Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
#5 Sets up a Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roman Reigns feud on WWE SmackDown
Shinsuke Nakamura was all set to win the WWE SmackDown gauntlet match, when lo and behold, Roman Reigns and Jey Uso put a brutal beatdown on him, helping Adam Pearce win the contest. As good as a Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roman Reigns feud would have been, and make no mistake, that is coming someday soon, this is an intriguing contest. It gives Shinsuke Nakamura the time to establish himself as a possible dominant challenger for Roman Reigns.
WWE SmackDown is clearly a show that is centered around Roman Reigns, with multiple challengers stepping up to him, but him looking like an unbeatable, invincible top star. It is much in the vein of Homelander in The Boys, who is clearly the star of the show, even though he is definitely the bad guy. Shinsuke Nakamura is the underdog, but every underdog has his day, to twist and amend a popular phrase.
And even if Shinsuke Nakamura comes up short in his quest to become the WWE Universal Champion, it will still be a major step up for him, after he clashes with Roman Reigns.