What’s the story?
Shinsuke Nakamura is the early favourite to win the Money In The Bank ladder match at the SmackDown brand-exclusive Money In The Bank pay-per-view on June 18th, according to Cage Side Seats.
WWE officials are apparently very high on the Japanese Superstar and will accord him a big push now that he has officially debuted as an in-ring competitor for the blue brand's roster at the Backlash PPV this past Sunday.
In case you didn’t know...
Nakamura is widely regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers of this era having competed in several classic matchups during his time in NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling).
The 37-year-old debuted in WWE’s NXT brand last year and on SmackDown after Wrestlemania 33 this year, competing in his first official matchup at Backlash against Dolph Ziggler.
The heart of the matter
This year’s Money In The Bank PPV is exclusive to WWE’s SmackDown brand and will feature six competitors battling to climb the ladder and successfully retrieve the coveted MITB briefcase. The victor gets a guaranteed title shot at the WWE championship at a time and place of the winner’s choosing.
The WWE reportedly plans on giving a huge push to Shinsuke Nakamura at the aforementioned PPV, by having him win the MITB ladder match and cash in his contract before Wrestlemania 34.
The King of Strong Style will probably be booked in a feud against his former NJPW co-performer and former WWE champion AJ Styles, with several pro-wrestling industry insiders stating that Styles will indeed be inserted into the WWE championship picture in the near future.
What’s next?
SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon initially announced five participants who will compete in the aforementioned matchup, namely AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura, with Kevin Owens later being added as the 6th participant in the match.
Money In The Bank will take place at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on June 18th.
Author’s take
Shinsuke Nakamura is a pleasure to watch and the man truly is – forgive me for sounding clichéd – an ‘Artist’.
Here’s hoping the King of Strong Style wins the Money In The Bank briefcase and goes on to face AJ Styles with both talented performers being inserted into the WWE championship scene real soon.
