WrestleMania: WWE Championship - AJ Syles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Well, it's happening. Two years ago, at New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual January 4th Wrestle Kingdom show, AJ Styles challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. They tore the house down in a match that most certainly lived up to the hype. Mere hours later, it became apparent that both men would be making the move across the pacific to set foot in WWE. Styles debuted in the 2016 Royal Rumble in a (sort of) surprise while Nakamura was built up as the biggest acquisition in NXT history.

Fast forward to 2018: AJ Styles is the WWE Champion for the second time and the face of the SmackDown brand, unequivocally the best in-ring performer plying his trade on a regular basis. Shinsuke Nakamura, after a medicore run atop NXT and an underwhelming roll-out on the main roster, has won the 2018 (Men's) Royal Rumble match. As is their destiny, both men shall face each other on WWE's grandest stage, this time with Nakamura challenging Styles for his championship. Its being called a 'dream match' (as much as something that's already taken place with both men at peak powers can be called a dream match) and is essentially the 'hardcore' fanbase's main event.

Frankly, we all have high expectations for this. As I alluded to earlier, Nakamura hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire, even after winning the Royal Rumble, while Styles is essentially the biggest deal on SmackDown. But when the bell rings, these men are equals. The in-ring quality should be extraordinary, regardless of what time the two men get, and that will be enough for many, but the real test for WWE is building interest and investment in this match beyond the die-hard fans. I have little faith in SmackDown, given the way the show's devolved over the past year, and its ability to achieve this, but it'll be intriguing to see how they go about building it.

As for a winner? Surely this is Nakamura's? He was a victim of the Jinder Mahal experiment and sacrificed not once, but twice at that alter. The Rumble win did a lot to reverse that damage, but winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania? That'll all but erase those issues. Styles doesn't need the win, he's had a strong run with the title and has the credibility with the fans at this stage to absorb a major loss such as this. Nakamura needs it that much more, and I sincerely hope we see him take the gold.

Both are stone cold going into Mania, so I expect this to get less time than you'd hope and we have to wait for the next show to get the match most of us want.

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Originally Posted by Y 2 Jake

Both are stone cold going into Mania, so I expect this to get less time than you'd hope and we have to wait for the next show to get the match most of us want.

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WrestleMania is going to be well over 4 1/2 hours, so why can't Styles vs Nakamura gets 20-25 minutes?

I expect them to have the MOTN, if they get the time they deserve.

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Originally Posted by BestSportsEntertainer

WrestleMania is going to be well over 4 1/2 hours, so why can't Styles vs Nakamura gets 20-25 minutes?

I expect them to have the MOTN, if they get the time they deserve.

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Have you ever seen a Wrestlemania? It could be ten hours and you'd get shortchanged in several matches whilst they have a celebrity cameo, mini concert, etc. Time management is not their forte on that show.

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Originally Posted by Y 2 Jake

Have you ever seen a Wrestlemania? It could be ten hours and you'd get shortchanged in several matches whilst they have a celebrity cameo, mini concert, etc. Time management is not their forte on that show.

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I understand time management isn't WWE's strong suit, but surely they're not dumb enough to cut Styles vs Nakamura short, right?

I hope this closes the show. And not just because I'm a mark. But honestly, who will be able to follow THAT?

Reports also indicate that WWE are looking to downplay Lesnar, which means no Lesnar vs Reigns at the main event. The mixed tag match will be a fail if it main events and about Cena vs Taker. Damn I forgot this. Cena vs Taker will probably get a Cena/Rock type of crowd reaction so best they can do is have Styles vs Nakamura be second from the top.

On to the match itself. I recently watched Styles vs Nakamura from WK10 and it was amazing. I want this to out-do that one. Given the fact that Reigns vs Lesnar needs about 15 minutes to be great, Mixed Tag needs about 10 minutes to be great and Cena vs Taker needs 20 minutes to feel special, I see no reason as to why Styles vs Nakamura shouldn't be given 30 minutes. They can really have the greatest match of WM ever. The other great matches are Steamboat/Savage, Taker/HBK, Austin/Bret, HBK/Bret. Nakamura and Styles' goal should be to deliver the greatest ever match of Wrestlemania. Nothing less than that. Can they do it? With the right crowd reaction and right in-ring story, the definately can. You got Styles' amazing ability to sell a story in the ring and Nakamura's amazing ability to tell a story with his body and emotions. Examples (Styles vs Mahal CoC and Nakamura vs Reigns at the Rumble).

So I have high expectations for this one. It definately has similar vibes to HBK vs Bret from WM 12.

IMO, WWE should have waited one more year and build Nakamura even more. Make him a real star because he seems like a glorified upper midcarder right now. But let's see how Nakamura will be viewed after this. In my perfect world, Styles beats Nakamura in a near perfect match, Nakamura continues to build up, Styles holds the WWE Championship until next Wrestlemania, where Nakamura (now a bigger deal), challenges him again and wins. That story would definately happen in NJPW, but things move faster in the WWE, so I expect Nak to win here.

I don't feel they've built up Nakamura at all. It's a match that people want to see so they've just thrown it together.

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Originally Posted by Y 2 Jake

I don't feel they've built up Nakamura at all. It's a match that people want to see so they've just thrown it together.

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I agree with you. To be fair, losing twice to Jinder Mahal of all people hasn't helped even a bit.

I just hope that they get enough time. But my hopes aren't much high though. Wrestlemania is going to be damn long. And I really doubt if this match will get its due time.

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Originally Posted by Y 2 Jake

I don't feel they've built up Nakamura at all. It's a match that people want to see so they've just thrown it together.

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Nak has been poorly handled since his debut. His first feud was an absolute abomination - to paraphrase Sam, "hey, check out this new guy, he looks different, acts different, has a neat entrance and is just as good as Dolph Fucking Ziggler." And after that, they had him fail to beat one of the worst WWE champions in history at the second biggest event of the year. The damage that did is almost incalculable.

And yet, fans still want to cheer him because of his entrance and he is something different.

Strangely, he has been booked as something of a special attraction but then not actually presented as anything special, at least not consistently. He has beaten Orton and Cena, he has won the Rumble and shown that with the right opponent, he can have a good match in a hybrid strong/WWE style but then in between there is nothing. There is a seeming lack of trust or a thought that Nak is maybe too weird.

That alone suggests that his match with AJ will not get the time it requires.

Had it been done properly, Nakamura would have taken the title from Jinder, defended it in a series of matches and feuds - Jinder, Orton, Cena, Owens, Sami, perhaps even teamed with AJ against SamiKO before AJ wins the Rumble or simply challenges Nak because there is no else left to deal with.

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Originally Posted by Барбоса

Nak has been poorly handled since his debut. His first feud was an absolute abomination - to paraphrase Sam, "hey, check out this new guy, he looks different, acts different, has a neat entrance and is just as good as Dolph Fucking Ziggler." And after that, they had him fail to beat one of the worst WWE champions in history at the second biggest event of the year. The damage that did is almost incalculable.

And yet, fans still want to cheer him because of his entrance and he is something different.

Strangely, he has been booked as something of a special attraction but then not actually presented as anything special, at least not consistently. He has beaten Orton and Cena, he has won the Rumble and shown that with the right opponent, he can have a good match in a hybrid strong/WWE style but then in between there is nothing. There is a seeming lack of trust or a thought that Nak is maybe too weird.

That alone suggests that his match with AJ will not get the time it requires.

Had it been done properly, Nakamura would have taken the title from Jinder, defended it in a series of matches and feuds - Jinder, Orton, Cena, Owens, Sami, perhaps even teamed with AJ against SamiKO before AJ wins the Rumble or simply challenges Nak because there is no else left to deal with.

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You just booked Nakamura perfectly. Keeping his mystique. Also undefeated at least at the main roster. Just perfect.

I just think that WWE wanted to test Nakamura with Jinder about if he'll continue getting good reactions. And he did. Nakamura chants were quite loud. And WWE wanted to make him World Champion at Wrestlemania. Still doesn't justify his booking though.

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Originally Posted by Барбоса

Nak has been poorly handled since his debut. His first feud was an absolute abomination - to paraphrase Sam, "hey, check out this new guy, he looks different, acts different, has a neat entrance and is just as good as Dolph Fucking Ziggler." And after that, they had him fail to beat one of the worst WWE champions in history at the second biggest event of the year. The damage that did is almost incalculable.

And yet, fans still want to cheer him because of his entrance and he is something different.

Strangely, he has been booked as something of a special attraction but then not actually presented as anything special, at least not consistently. He has beaten Orton and Cena, he has won the Rumble and shown that with the right opponent, he can have a good match in a hybrid strong/WWE style but then in between there is nothing. There is a seeming lack of trust or a thought that Nak is maybe too weird.

That alone suggests that his match with AJ will not get the time it requires.

Had it been done properly, Nakamura would have taken the title from Jinder, defended it in a series of matches and feuds - Jinder, Orton, Cena, Owens, Sami, perhaps even teamed with AJ against SamiKO before AJ wins the Rumble or simply challenges Nak because there is no else left to deal with.

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You just booked Nakamura perfectly. Keeping his mystique. Also undefeated at least at the main roster. Just perfect.

I just think that WWE wanted to test Nakamura with Jinder about if he'll continue getting good reactions. And he did. Nakamura chants were quite loud. And WWE wanted to make him World Champion at Wrestlemania. Still doesn't justify his booking though.

You know the problem with building a feud around the match itself being a potential Dream Match? There's a high possibility of failing to live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the match, but I expect a LOT of misappropriated disappointment after the contest. Tonight's developments were solid, but this feud needs a next-gear, and fast!

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Originally Posted by @smarkmouth

You know the problem with building a feud around the match itself being a potential Dream Match? There's a high possibility of failing to live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the match, but I expect a LOT of misappropriated disappointment after the contest. Tonight's developments were solid, but this feud needs a next-gear, and fast!

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And you couldn't be more correct. Even though it was 20 minutes long, it felt like 10, and felt extremely underwhelming. It was solid, but nowhere near anybody expected it to be. It didn't tear down the house and the crowd couldn't get into it. I don't really know what went wrong here.

I feel like all this hype will make this match feel less good than what it actually was and the crowd didn't really help.

The failure of expectation management aside, I can't fault the crowd too much. Could have been an absolute barn burner and the crowd would have still been spent after six hours of wrestling.

I haven't even seen this entire match yet or anything passed it on the show. It was probably the one I was most excited for, but unfortunately after everything that happened at Mania already, as soon as I saw them lock up and start slow I passed out asleep.

l agree. He is very different man. His fans still support him because he is strong enough.