Shinsuke Nakamura is in the midst of a new babyface push on WWE SmackDown. Seemingly out of nowhere, Nakamura received a hard push during last week’s Gauntlet Match to determine opponent for Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. This followed Nakamura wrestling mostly in tag team action alongside Cesaro for months and having not won a singles bout since September of last year. However, WWE is clearly behind this idea to give him some renewed focus in the singles division.
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This week on SmackDown, Nakamura defeated Jey Uso clean in the opening match of the show. Other than that big victory, what was also significant was that Nakamura made his entrance to his old theme song. Fans will remember his iconic “Rising Sun” song which often featured sing-alongs with fans in packed arenas across the country.
After the show, Nakamura went on his Twitter account and confirmed that “Rising Sun” has returned to stay.
YeaOh!! #therisingsun is back!! #kingofstrongstyle https://t.co/32GqspRdAw
— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) January 16, 2021
Despite not winning the Gauntlet Match last week, Nakamura has declared that he still has plans to go after Reigns and the Universal Championship.
Though not yet announced, we’d expect Nakamura to be an entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble match. The updated WWE Royal Rumble 2021 card is as follows:
- WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Bill Goldberg - WWE Universal Title – Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens - 30-Man Royal Rumble Match
Daniel Bryan, WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, and 23 others TBA - 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match
Nia Jax, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and 24 others TBA
Which match are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments section below! Additionally, you can give me a follow on Twitter @ryandroste for all things WWE and AEW.
