Shinsuke Nakamura debuts on ‘SmackDown Live.’ (WWE.com)
The WWE has announced that Shinsuke Nakamura will make his in-ring debut at Backlash, the upcoming WWE pay-per-view that airs on May 21st. What they haven’t announced, however, is who Nakamura will face at Backlash. So who is Nakamura’s opponent going to be?
Based on recent episodes of SmackDown Live, all signs are pointing towards Shinsuke Nakamura facing Dolph Ziggler at Backlash.
This feud has been brewing for about a month now, and it began the night Nakamura made his main roster debut. On the April 4th episode of SmackDown Live, Shinsuke Nakamura debuted, interrupting The Miz in a segment.
Later that night, though, Shinsuke Nakamura had a dark match with Dolph Ziggler; after SmackDown Live went off the air, Dolph Ziggler entered the arena and challenged Nakamura to a match, which ended up taking place after 205 Live but which was not broadcast anywhere. Nakamura ultimately defeated Ziggler in about 10 minutes.
It was on the April 11th episode of SmackDown Live that the Ziggler vs. Nakamura feud began on screen. That night, Dolph Ziggler expressed frustration with the fact that WWE fans are obsessed with all of the new superstars, including Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura then entered, and Ziggler asked Nakamura who he thinks he is. Nakamura simply said, “Do you want to know who I am? I am Shinsuke Nakamura.” Ziggler then tried to kick Nakamura, but Nakamura fended him off.
The following week, on April 18th, Nakamura had no role in the show. But the next week, on April 25th, he had another segment with Ziggler to open the broadcast. SmackDown Live that week was meant to open with Shinsuke Nakamura being interviewed by Renee Young, but this was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler.
What happened next was truly bizarre: Ziggler seemed to pose the theory that Shinsuke Nakamura is literally Michael Jackson in disguise. Nakamura called Ziggler a jackass, and Ziggler attacked him, but once again, Nakamura was able to fend him off.
That’s where this feud stands at this time, but we’re likely to see it developed further on May 2nd’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Backlash will air on Sunday, May 21st on the WWE Network.