Shinsuke Nakamura is officially ‘the one true king’ of WWE

On last night’s (June 18) episode of SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin battled for the fifth time since mid-May. After weeks of Nakamura running around with the stolen crown that Corbin won in the 2019 King of the Ring tournament, last night’s match determined the rightful owner of the crown.

Corbin’s biggest mistake is that he played by the rules, which is uncharacteristic of him. He had a golden opportunity during his entrance to just grab the unguarded crown and make a run for it, but he instead opted to go ahead with the match. He was later in tears after Nakamura put him down with the Kinshasa. Afterwards, the ring announcer proclaimed Nakamura as “the one true king of WWE.”

Nakamura proceeded to sit down in the king’s throne, where he was officially crowned by his air guitarist hype man, Rick Boogs.

So, does this mean that Corbin has to drop the “King” from his moniker going forward? Based on the ring announcer’s aforementioned proclamation and the following exchange between Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on commentary, I’d say that’s an affirmative:

Cole: “King Corbin is a king no longer. Well, as long as you consider wearing the crown meaning you’re the king.”

McAfee: “That’s what that means, yeah. We just had a full battle for that. But now King Corbin has to think about what life is like looking up at the chair, the throne of Shinsuke Nakamura, the crowned king of WWE.”

In an online exclusive, Nakamura is once again addressed as “the one true king of WWE.” Boogs and Nak explain that he’s always been the king, and it’s now his time to shine in WWE.

Do you hope to see Nakamura defend the crown in a future King of the Ring tournament?