What’s the story?
The United States Champion, Kevin Owens, will face ‘The Artist’ Shinsuke Nakamura on Tuesday’s episode of Smackdown LIVE. Both the competitors are part of the 6-man ladder match for the Money in the Bank contract which will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, on 18th June.
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In case you didn’t know...
Kevin Owens, previously known as Kevin Steen, has faced Shinsuke Nakamura before at ROH War of Worlds 2014 event when they were part of Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling respectively.
Though the two have squared off before in a singles match at WWE live events, this will be their first televised bout under WWE.
The heart of the matter
Since defeating Dolph Ziggler in his debut match at Backlash, Shinsuke Nakamura went on to defeat Kevin Owens in not one but two tag team matches on two consecutive episodes of Smackdown LIVE.
On the upcoming episode of Smackdown LIVE, the Prizefighter and the King of Strong Style will face each other for the fist time on WWE television to determine who is the better man heading into the 6-man ladder match at Money in the Bank.
Nakamura’s bout with Owens on the upcoming episode of Smackdown will be his first singles main event on the blue brand.
What’s next?
As mentioned earlier, both the competitors, along with Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, and Dolph Ziggler, will fight it out at the Money in the Bank PPV for the Money in the Bank contract.
The holder of the Money in the Bank contract is entitled to a world title match at the time and place of his choosing.
Author’s Take
Kevin Owens and Nakamura are two of the best performers that Smackdown has to offer. Expect them to tear down the house by delivering a great match which should hype up one of the most anticipated PPVs in the WWE calendar year even more.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown LIVE holds a lot of promise as Owens vs Nakamura, Styles vs Ziggler and New Day’s in-ring debut have already been announced to take place.
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