10 Booking Steps To AJ Styles Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Finn Bálor At WrestleMania 34

2. Nakamura's Last Chance

The next episode of SmackDown opens with the united Bálor Club. Finn Bálor, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows are finally a trio on WWE TV, a move that should have been made from the very beginning. The Good Brothers are rebuilt as a genuine force, and Bálor gets to be the wonderful heel he is.

AJ vs. Bálor is on for WrestleMania, but Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan aren’t happy at all about the way it came about. Neither is WWE Champion AJ Styles. All three are angry that Shinsuke Nakamura was screwed out of what was clearly his, and that Finn Bálor has wormed his way into a position through nefarious means.

Shinsuke Nakamura is given one last chance to get into the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Bálor is safe by virtue of winning the Rumble, but AJ/Nakamura III is booked for SmackDown - if Nakamura wins, the WrestleMania 34 match becomes a triple threat.

AJ and Nakamura are given a whole 45 minutes on SmackDown to have their best match yet, a match that ends with Nakamura pinning the champion clean in the middle of the ring. Fans can claim about champions losing clean on television, but this is such a common occurrence in WWE that it no longer hurts the champ.

Bálor Club hit the ring and lay both men out following the match, another clear statement of intent by a group who seem intent on running SmackDown Live. All focus turns to WrestleMania 34, where the WWE Championship will be on the line in a triple threat match.