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What's the story?
Well, SummerSlam is hotting up and the card is starting to take shape - and one potentially surprising match has been added to the card in the form of a United States Championship match.
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Shinsuke Nakamura will defend his United States title against former champion Jeff Hardy, who's had a problem or two with a certain Randy Orton over the past few weeks.
In case you didn't know...
Hardy’s United States Championship reign ended surprisingly quick fashion at Extreme Rules when The Charismatic Enigma suffered a near-immediate title loss to Nakamura after an attack before the opening bell.
The King of Strong Style floored Hardy with a low blow behind the referee’s back - a move he mastered in his rivalry with AJ Styles.
Hardy struggled to his feet and insisted that the referee start the match, only to be downed instantly by a Kinshasa.
But that wasn't it for Hardy, to rub salt into the wounds, Randy Orton would appear and attack the former champion.
Orton again would make his presence known during Hardy's official rematch on SmackDown Live, choosing the optimum moment to strike and kill Hardy's title dreams after a picture-perfect Swanton Bomb looked to swing the gold back towards Hardy.
The Charismatic Enigma picked up the win, but no gold - and The Viper unleashed one of the most brutal attacks we've seen in a long time when he assaulted his prey and DDT'd Hardy off of the announce table, as Nakamura watched from a distance.
When Hardy eventually made his return to SmackDown both Nakamura and Orton would attack Hardy, with Orton wiping the paint off Hardy’s face, later saying he was “erasing The Enigma.”
The heart of the matter
WWE officially announced the match for SummerSlam on Twitter, with the accompanying WWE.com article stating there may be more than meets the eye to this one.
The article on WWE.com states that:
WWE.com has learned that United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura will once again go to war against Jeff Hardy at The Biggest Event of The Summer, with Randy Orton no doubt lurking in the shadows.
The article also states that the WWE’s Apex Predator may "once again look to play a painful role" in Jeff Hardy's attempt to regain the gold.
What's next?
Hardy challenges Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship at SummerSlam at the Barclays Center on Sunday, August 19th. You can watch it live on the WWE Network.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
