Potential surprise WWE return ruined; Major star spotted in Australia

WWE stars have made the trip out to Australia this week to be part of Crown Jewel, and it seems that a number of interesting faces have made the journey.

One face who has been seen on WWE's recent Instagram uploads is Shinsuke Nakamura, who hasn't wrestled on SmackDown since June.

The company hasn't used the former United States Champion for several months, but he has been chosen to travel to Australia, which means he could finally appear this week on SmackDown.

Nakamura can be seen along with Chelsea Green and Sami Zayn taking in the fresh air out in Australia and could now be the next star to answer Sami Zayn's open challenge on Friday, since it is once again likely to take place.

The company is doing SmackDown, Crown Jewel, and RAW in Perth, so it's unlikely that Nakamura has been brought along if he won't be part of the shows. Of course, there are often stars to cover media appearances, but since The King of Strong Style hasn't wrestled since June, there wouldn't be a need for him to be part of appearances.

Will Shinsuke Nakamura make his return on WWE SmackDown?

WWE has a lot of things coming up at the moment, with Survivor Series looming as well as the tour in Japan happening straight after Australia. Nakamura is expected to be one of the stars of that tour, which could make sense for a return on SmackDown.

As noted, he has been spotted with Sami Zayn, so the two men could be looking to work together on Friday if Zayn offers his open challenge for the United States Championship once again, and Nakamura is the man to accept.

It's easy to imagine that those two men will steal the show if given half the chance.