5 possible contenders from SmackDown for Finn Bálor's Intercontinental Championship 

#1 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura's main roster career so far could be termed as one of the most underwhelming. His highly successful run in the NXT made a success in the main-roster seemingly inevitable. However, owing to terrible booking decisions for months, his credibility has been severely reduced. He won the 2018 Royal Rumble with much fanfare to build up a dream match with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34.

Unfortunately, all those expectations could not be fulfilled as the match was not of the quality as was expected and more importantly, Nakamura was on the losing end. The loss did translate into a heel turn. However, multiple losses in the following months against AJ Styles derailed all of his momentum. His United States Championship reign was also extremely underwhelming and currently he is stuck in a tag team with Rusev.

On the recent episode of SmackDown Live, Kevin Owens attacked Rusev, which may indicate an end to this tag team. The Superstar Shake Up may just give an opportunity for the WWE to actually shake things up for The King of Strong Style.

Finn Bálor and Shinsuke Nakamura have already squared off against each other at NXT and a rivalry between the two may bolster Nakamura's credibility. A possible title win may also lead to return to the main event scene for the legendary Japanese wrestler.