AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura earlier got confirmed for this week’s Smackdown Live.
It was unclear whether it was going to be a title match. The confusion was that these two were already being advertised for the Money in the Bank PPV title match, as well. So, we could barely get the reality until the show went air.
It got announced that these two bitter rivals will square off in a match. It will be a non-title match at the main event of Smackdown Live. The winner of it will get to choose the stipulation of their upcoming title match at the MITB PPV event.
Before their fourth match on the main roster, Renee Young had a backstage interview with AJ Styles. He stated Nakamura might have outsmarted him at their past meetings at Wrestlemania, GRR or Backlash. But, this won’t happen at the house that he built.
“I speak the international language of FOREARM to FACE… @ShinsukeN CAN’T beat me in the ? that AJ STYLES BUILT!”#WWEChampion @AJStylesOrg is all confidence heading into his one-on-one match with @ShinsukeN! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/ZA3KEfRaog
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2018
He does not care about the stipulation of the next WWE Championship match. Be it an inverted scaffold match or a bull rope, Hell in a Cell or an inferno match, the outcome will be the same. He will retain his title defeating the Artist.
“I will dishonor @AJStylesOrg, then I will TAKE his title!” – @ShinsukeN #SDLive pic.twitter.com/9W2r3lKDnk
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 16, 2018
On the other hand, Nakamura gave an interview, too to Renee Young at backstage.
He continued acting like a ‘con-Artist’, as stated by Styles. (He) stated there’s no chance for Styles to win the match. And he will give multiple knees to the face to emerge as the winner.
It’s the latest chapter of the rivalry…
Will @AJStylesOrg or @ShinsukeN WIN the right to pick the stipulation for their @WWE Championship match at #MITB?! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/zHS3nfegHM
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2018
The same thing happened during the Smackdown main event match. Nakamura pretended to be hit by a low blow. The referee was not watching.
So, he involved in an argument with the champion. This created room for Nakamura to hit a reverse exploder on AJ Styles. After that, he followed it with a knee to the face to pick up the win.
Bad news, @AJStylesOrg! @ShinsukeN is picking the #WWETitle match stipulation at #MITB! What will The #KingOfStrongStyle choose?!? #SDLive pic.twitter.com/mKMFATsPiA
— WWE (@WWE) May 16, 2018
By this big win on Smackdown, Nakamura will now be able to choose the stipulation for their next match. It will take place for the WWE Championship at the MITB PPV event on June 17th.
As per the previous updates from cagesideseats.com, it might turn out to be a Last Man Standing match. We should get to know about it on the next episode of Smackdown.
