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What's the story?
Shinsuke Nakamura has taken to social media to comment on his match next week with Randy Orton, the winner of which will become the number one contender to Jinder Mahal's WWE Championship.
In case you didn't know...
Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton are the top two babyfaces on SmackDown Live as 2017 moves from summer to autumn. Both are international superstars, but neither man has been able to wrestle the WWE Championship away from the Modern Day Maharaja, Jinder Mahal.
Orton had three bites at the cherry but was thwarted each time by the Singh Brothers, with some help from The Great Khali at Battleground. The King of Strong Style also ran into Singh Brother-related problems at WWE SummerSlam 2017, allowing Jinder's reign to continue.
It was announced on SmackDown Live that next week's episode will be headlined by a match between Nakamura and Orton, in order to determine a new number one contender to the richest prize in the game.
The heart of the matter
Shinsuke Nakamura soon tweeted his opinion on the match against Orton, and it could not have been more positive. Nakamura posted a hype graphic of the match with the caption 'Yes. Dreams come one after another'.
It may seem unusual that a man who has worked on big stages against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kurt Angle, Kazuchika Okada, AJ Styles and more would see a match with Randy Orton as a 'dream match', but don't sleep on this one just yet.
Nakamura's WWE run may not have set the world on fire so far, but his good matches have been as good as anything else on SmackDown Live recently. It is unthinkable that Nakamura will give less than 100% in a match he describes as being a 'dream'.
What's next?
Nakamura vs. Orton will take place on next week's edition of SmackDown Live, and the winner will presumably go on to face Jinder Mahal inside Hell in a Cell. It is also likely that the eventual championship match will take place inside the eponymous structure, ostensibly to keep the Singh Brothers away from interfering.
With Orton already having three shots this year, Nakamura must be considered the favourite going into this match.
Author's take
Whether you are a Randy Orton fan or not, it is difficult to deny that Randy Orton vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is indeed a dream match. The two are legitimate stars all around the world and have been so for a number of years now. Next week's main event should be fantastic.
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