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What's the story?
Many questions were left unanswered when tonight's United States Championship match between Jeff Hardy and Shinsuke Nakamura was scrapped due to an injury incurred at a house show for the challenger.
Well, the details have been clarified and it really is a bizarre one. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has confirmed that Nakamura's injury was the result of a police dog biting his leg at the arena before yesterday's Bakersfield show.
Sportskeeda is the one-stop destination for latest WWE rumors and wrestling news.
In case you didn't know...
Shinsuke Nakamura was scheduled to face Jeff Hardy tonight in an attempt to win his first main roster WWE gold.
The King of Strong Style took on AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania in a dream match before turning on his former friend to set up a rivalry that culminated in a Last Man Standing Match at Money In The Bank where The Phenomenal One emerged victorious.
The champion, Jeff Hardy, won the United States Championship on the first Raw after the Superstar Shake-up when he defeated Jinder Mahal, taking the title over to SmackDown the following night.
The heart of the matter
On social media earlier tonight, WWE posted a clip of Dasha Fuentes reporting that tonight's match between Nakamura and Hardy had been canceled due to an injury Nakamura sustained last night, but no other details were mentioned around what may have shelved the former NXT star.
The Wrestling Observer noted that Nakamura didn't work SmackDown's Monday night house show in Bakersfield, California, with Dave Meltzer confirming that the Japanese star was bit in the leg by a police dog at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield yesterday.
What's next?
Well, tonight's SmackDown is just hours away, Jeff Hardy defends his United States Championship in an open challenge. As for Nakamura, he won't be in action so who knows if we'll see him at all.
The unfortunate timing of this means Nakamura may also be ruled out of WWE's house shows in Japan over the weekend.
Who do you think should be Nakamura's replacement to face Jeff Hardy? Let us know in the comments!
