6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Jan 3)
5. Shinsuke Nakamura's Revenge
Last week, Braun Strowman levelled Shinsuke Nakamura with his big Power Slam and then danced with New Day. Though the last part sucked, the first bit didn't. It was about time WWE positioned someone as Nakamura's Intercontinental Title challenger. The guy has had that belt for months without doing anything with it.
Sorry, braun. Revenge is a bitch.
Nakamura smashed Strowman with his Kinshasa knee strike after Braun dealt with Cesaro, and the announcers implied that Shin had been waiting to do that for seven full days. There it is, that simple storytelling and progression that fans want from championship feuds. That wasn't so hard, was it?
Everyone came out of this smelling of roses. Cesaro was competitive, Sami Zayn his usual scampering self, Braun dominant and Nakamura pounced at the most opportunistic moment.