WWE SmackDown: 5 Biggest news stories - Roman Reigns gets tricked, huge alliance for Apollo Crews? (January 15, 2021)

#3: Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura earned major singles victories on this episode of WWE SmackDown

.@ShinsukeN picks up the win over Jey @WWEUsos on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/J8eHvSj72F

— WWE (@WWE) January 16, 2021

Shinsuke Nakamura put on a great performance in the Gauntlet match during last week's WWE SmackDown. Some fans were worried that WWE wouldn't follow that up with a proper arc for Nakamura in the future. After this week's episode, it seems like WWE have decided to invest in Nakamura once again.

The King of Strong Style made his entrance last night with 'The Rising Sun' theme song from his old days as a babyface in WWE. Nakamura faced Jey Uso in singles action, as a result of Roman Reigns and Uso's targeted hostility towards him in the previous episode.

Nakamura's tag team partner, Cesaro, would also show up for commentary at one point during the match. Uso nearly defeated Nakamura with a pin where his legs were on the ropes.

Unfortunately for The Tribal Chief's ally, he was caught cheating by the referee. This opened up an opportunity for The King of Strong Style to hit his opponent with the Kinshasa, for the victory.

🤯🤯🤯🤯#SmackDown @WWEDanielBryan @WWECesaro pic.twitter.com/7dgp9XUKzv

— WWE (@WWE) January 16, 2021

Cesaro also earned a huge victory later in the same episode. The Swiss Cyborg defeated Daniel Bryan in an excellent match, that too, in a clean fashion. Now, there is plenty of scope to push Cesaro as a singles star, alongside Nakamura.

This plot direction couldn't come at a better time, as WWE is currently on the road to WrestleMania 37.