Without even accounting for rumors suggesting as much, it’s clear from watching WWE television that the company is pushing Shinsuke Nakamura as a future star for the SmackDown Live brand. He was a focal point of the promotion for the Backlash pay-per-view, where he defeated Dolph Ziggler, before being entered into the Money in the Bank ladder match.
WWE has the following poll up on its website today:
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The Nakamura push appears to be landing:
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I’m a Rusev man myself but there’s no doubting Nakamura’s talent. We’ll have a better sense for just how over he is next month when he is one of many trying for that briefcase and a guaranteed title shot.