WWE Rumors - Original plan for Shinsuke Nakamura and the Intercontinental title revealed
Braun Strowman finally won his first singles title in the WWE by beating Shinsuke Nakamura to capture the for the Intercontinental Championship on the most recent episode of SmackDown.
The decision to put the title on Strowman was always expected to happen, however, a very small section of the fanbase felt it would happen this early.
Dave Meltzer shared a few details about the Intercontinental title change on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer stated that Nakamura and Strowman were originally scheduled to have a lengthy feud. The two Superstars were slated to kick off their title rivalry early and have matches at PPVs in December and January. However, the plans were changed primarily due to Strowman's untimely injury.
The decision was then made to push the angle and the matches on the weekly TV programming. The title win stories for babyfaces are usually stretched out, but that wasn't the case in Strowman's case. There wasn't even a well-booked chase for the title, and Nakamura's forgettable reign sadly ended with a Powerslam.
Meltzer revealed the following:
Strowman-Nakamura was supposed to be a long programme and they blew that off right away. The way that the finish was, I don't think that I don't know who Strowman would be going for with the Intercontinental title going forward. Maybe it will still be Nakamura.
The title change, Intercontinental, you know, they have been building that thing up. It's weird though that they have been building that thing up. It was supposed to be on the December PPV, then it was going to be on the January PPV, then, they just put it on TV and it wasn't even a chase. It was just like a powerslam win.
Shinsuke Nakamura's Intercontinental title reign has been a massive disappointment and the feud with Strowman was supposed to elevate the title again on TV. However, the potentially premature title change may have hurt the quality of the storyline as well as Nakamura's stock.
The King of Strong Style should ideally continue his angle with Strowman and we hope WWE gets their booking right this time around.