Shinsuke Nakamura suffered an unsual and unfortunate injury on June 25. However it appears he won’t be out of action for long as a result of the injury.
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Nakamura and the SmackDown Live roster were set to perform at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California the night before he was supposed to challenge Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship on SmackDown Live. However as he entered the building for a pre-show security check, a security dog bit one of his legs without provocation.
WWE confirmed that Nakamura had suffered an injury, and the Bakersfield Police Department released a statement on the incident.
“The canine entered the room to sweep for the presence of any explosive material,” the statement read. “As the sweep took place the WWE employee was accidentally bit by the canine. The employee sustained an injury to his lower left leg. Medical aid was immediately summoned to the scene and the employee was transported to a local area hospital for medical treatment.”
While there were no confirmed reports of stitches required, Nakamura was unable to wrestle in his native country of Japan when the roster toured the country later in the week. He appeared at a live event in Tokyo on Thursday using a crutch for support.
Luckily for the former NXT champion, Nakamura’s recovery time won’t be long. Japanese news outlet Nikkan Sports wrote on Saturday that Nakamura said he’ll be back in two weeks during an interview at a hotel in Tokyo.
A two-week recovery still gives him room to compete at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on July 15 if the WWE medical team clears him.
Nakamura spent the better part of six months feuding with WWE Champion AJ Styles prior to the dog bite. In January he won the Royal Rumble, earning himself a title shot against Styles at WrestleMania.
“The Phenomenal One” came out victories in that match, prompting Nakamura to hit him with a low blow afterwards, turning heel in the process.
The two would face each other again at the Greatest Royal Rumble and Backash, with both matches ending in a double count-out. Styles finally managed to put his rival away at Money in the Bank by winning a Last Man Standing championship match in convincing fashion.
Nakamura’s next feud actually started a week prior to Money in the Bank when he hit Hardy with a low blow during a non-title match and followed up with a Kinshasa after the bell had already rang. This wound up “awakening” something in Hardy, prompting him to bring back his face paint look from his world championship days back in 2009.
Upon hearing the news on Tuesday, Hardy opted to offer an open challenge for his title. The challenge was answered by Sanity’s Eric Young, but the match was thrown out due to interference and led to a six-man tag between Sanity, Hardy and the Usos.
