Unpopular Opinion: Finn Balor vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship is a bad move
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.
This week on SmackDown Live, the King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura surprisingly interrupted Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor while the latter was giving an interview backstage. With this development, it looks like WWE is planning a feud between the former NXT champions on the blue brand.
Nakamura and Balor have had a history of delivering classic bouts and thus, the WWE Universe is excited about this feud. However, the inclusion of the Japanese Superstar in the Intercontinental Championship feud will have a negative impact on the tag team division of the blue brand, which is currently under its worst phase.
Daniel Bryan and Rowan, the tag team champions have no credible challengers for the title which forced WWE to pick Big E & Xavier Woods of the New Day as their new opponents. Sure, the short rivalry between Heavy Machinery and the Planet's Champions was entertaining but Tucker and Otis never stood a chance of winning the titles at Stomping Grounds.
WWE had them collide with the likes of B Team and the County Tag Team Champions which devalued Heavy Machinery. Before WrestleMania 35, they had one of the most puzzling characters on screen. This booking killed the momentum the team had generated in the developmental territory, NXT.
Given the lack of tag teams on the 'B' show, the one team which could have stepped up to battle the champions could have been Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. They portrayed heel characters during their last in-ring appearance but nobody would mind if they returned as faces to challenge Bryan and Rowan.
Rusev and Nakamura were once two of the most popular babyfaces of the company. The addition of Lana in this team would bring more cheers towards this tag team.
But, WWE has decided to insert the former NXT Champion in a battle with the Intercontinental Champion, Finn Balor. The company did not pick either of Buddy Murphy, Ali, Randy Orton or Shelton Benjamin to be Balor's next opponent. Instead, they have gone with Shinsuke Nakamura and possibly subtracted a tag team from the depleted SmackDown tag team division.
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I don't see Shinsuke Nakamura winning the Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor hence and this feud could possibly prove to be just another filler on SmackDown Live.
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