7 Worst Wrestling Moments Of The Week (May 28)

7. Nakamura vs. Dolph

I imagine for some casual fans, Nakamura is the equivalent of an incredibly hyped-up restaurant (even fancier than Strowman's Chipotle obsession). You keep hearing about it over and over again. Your friends won't shut up about great it is. It's gonna be so AMAZING! Finally, you go and...it was pretty good. Not bad. But that was it?

Of course, long-time fans know Nakamura can do much better. He's been in many damn good matches. But he is not off to a hot start on SmackDown. To give WWE some credit, he's been pushed with a far more honest effort than most people believed was in store for him. But the fear of Vince McMahon not understanding Nakamura is starting to feel justified.

His match at Backlash got things off to an underwhelming start. One of the most-hyped acts in the past few years could barely handle Dolph Ziggler. Remember when Goldberg manhandled Rusev, Kevin Owens, and Brock Lesnar in his run? That's how you push an act.

Ziggler peaked as a character in 2012 when he beat John Cena at TLC. It's been all downhill for him since. Good wrestler, but a consistent victim of bad booking. He's also been heavily promoted as a loser on TV, which was the crux of his entire angle with The Miz. That means Nakamura should have knocked him out in five minutes tops. That would have made a statement. Going 15 minutes made him look ordinary.

Of course, it took McMahon years to "get" CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, so Nakamura may have to put in some time before the crowd demands he be treated as a huge star. But so far, seeing him on the main roster feels about half as it should be.