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#2 Hit on WWE SmackDown: ‘King’ Shinsuke Nakamura wins the Intercontinental Championship
This week on WWE SmackDown, ‘King’ Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Apollo Crews for the Intercontinental Championship match. It was an excellent encounter between two superstars who relied on their respective strengths. Rick Boogs and Commander Azeez were at ringside to accompany Nakamura and Crews, respectively. However, the match official sent both superstars backstage during the title match.
Nakamura and Crews locked horns in a well-balanced encounter. The latter looked aggressive in the match and proved to be a big challenge for the King. However, Nakamura eventually sealed his victory with a Kinshasa and won the Intercontinental Championship on WWE SmackDown.
It was an excellent decision to schedule this match for WWE SmackDown this week instead of SummerSlam 2021. Nakamura’s title win is huge, but it would have been overshadowed at the pay-per-view. The title change added to the show’s solid start, and there are several incredible opportunities for the creative team to explore during Shinsuke Nakamura’s Intercontinental Championship reign.
Honorable mention: Rick Boogs and Pat McAfee’s celebration
It would be borderline criminal to talk about this match without mentioning Pat McAfee and Rick Boogs’ epic celebration on WWE SmackDown. The two hyped Nakamura like his long-lost brothers, playing air guitars while the entire arena sang along to Nakamura’s theme music.
Pat McAfee deserves a lot of credit for going above and beyond to make his commentary special. But his moves on top of the commentary desk every time Shinsuke Nakamura arrives are something that will never be topped on WWE SmackDown.
