8 Worthy Challengers for the US Title
Smackdown Live is called the “Land of Opportunity”. You would agree with it if you remember how careers of Superstars like Bray Wyatt, Rusev, The Miz etc. were re-elevated when they became a part of the Blue Brand. Smackdown Live currently has a stacked roster which consists of both homegrown Superstars like Randy Orton, The Miz etc. and former Indie sensations like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Daniel Bryan etc.
Booking on Smackdown Live has also been great this year. Every title is given equal prestige and importance. The WWE Championship is the brand’s top title and is held by one of the best wrestlers in WWE, AJ Styles. The US title has also been a major championship on Smackdown Live since 2017. Since 2017, the US title has been held by Superstars like AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Jeff Hardy etc.
The current Champion is Shinsuke Nakamura who won the title in July, this year by defeating Jeff Hardy. Nakamura then defeated Jeff Hardy in a rematch at Summerslam. After Summerslam, Shinsuke Nakamura announced that he wouldn’t defend the US title again unless he finds a worthy opponent. This storyline opens a door to several interesting possibilities.
Here, we take a look at 8 potential opponents "worthy" enough to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship.
#8 Harper
Harper was a major part of the Tag Team Division on Smackdown Live until Summerslam where his partner Rowan got injured. Rowan and Harper dropped the Tag Team Championships to The New Day on the Smackdown after Summerslam. Until Rowan returns to action, Harper must be booked as a singles competitor. Harper is a great wrestler and is even decent on the mic. Harper can work either as a heel or a face.
Harper had a singles run in 2014 after the Wyatt Family disbanded. Harper feuded with Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. Because of that feud, we got to witness some amazing matches between the two. Harper’s singles run was great while it lasted. If given the opportunity, Harper can prove himself to be a suitable contender for the US title. The feud between Harper and Shinsuke Nakamura would be really fun to witness, considering the fact that both superstars have weird gimmicks.