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What's the story?
The WWE has announced a couple of things that will take place on tonight's edition of SmackDown Live, including the opening segment and a number one contender's match for Bobby Roode's WWE United States Championship.
In case you didn't know...
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura faced each other in a classic match at New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 10. The event took place on January 4, 2016, just a couple weeks before AJ Styles' debut in the Royal Rumble, and just a few months before Nakamura's debut at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
The heart of the matter
The winner of the men's 2018 Royal Rumble, Shinsuke Nakamura, will kick off tonight's edition of SmackDown Live. After winning the Rumble match, Nakamura instantly made his decision for which title he's going after at WrestleMania, and it will be AJ Styles' WWE Championship.
This is a championship match almost guaranteed to steal the show at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans on April 8th, and one should expect AJ Styles to come out and congratulate Nakamura on winning the Rumble.
There will also be a Fatal-4-Way match to determine the number one contender for Bobby Roode's WWE United States Championship. The match will include Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal, Rusev and Zack Ryder.
What's next?
The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be host to the WWE for the fourth night in a row when SmackDown Live takes place there tonight. In addition to Nakamura and the Fatal-4-Way, expect some fallout from Ronda Rousey's debut and potentially the next challenger to the Usos' WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Author's take
It should be a very interesting open to SmackDown Live tonight when Nakamura kicks things off. You wonder if AJ Styles will remain a babyface or turn heel at some point during the build to WrestleMania.
I think you can keep him babyface and have him and Nakamura feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, potentially leading to a tag team match at WWE Fastlane in March.
As for the Fatal-4-Way, it's great to see some fresh faces in the hunt for the United States Championship. We have already seen Jinder Mahal face Bobby Roode, so my favourite to win this match is Rusev. However, if Kofi Kingston wins, a heel turn for Roode could be on the horizon.
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