Highlights
- Shinsuke Nakamura winning the World Heavyweight Championship could bring new and interesting storylines to the mix, adding fresh feuds and potential matches with top stars like Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins.
- Nakamura may not be ready to rule over Monday Night Raw just yet, and an Intercontinental Championship run could help him establish himself as a top contender before going for the World Title.
- However, Nakamura deserves World Championship glory, as he has shown great talent and has been in the world title picture before. A victory against Rollins would be a massive boost for his career and a great decision by WWE.
Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship reign has been quite exciting till now. The Visionary has already defended his title on multiple live events and premium live events. After defeating the likes of Damian Priest and Finn Balor multiple times, Shinsuke Nakamura has now knocked on his door for an opportunity.
However, The King of Strong Style has brought his mind games to the picture as well. This all started a few weeks ago on Raw when Nakamura, Rollins, and Cody Rhodes defeated the Judgment Day in a main event six-man tag team match. However, the celebration of the victory was turned around when Nakamura delivered the Kinshasa to Rollins and shocked the world.
A week later, on Raw, Rollins and Nakamura met face to face when the champion gave Nakamura an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship. While Rollins was calm and happy to share the ring with The King of Strong Style, the latter whispered something to the champion and delivered a kinshasa to him.
Though nobody knew what Nakamura whispered, Rollins’ face brought out a lot of tension. Last week on Monday Night Raw, Nakamura revealed that Rollins had been suffering from a back injury for quite some time and had not told anyone about it. This was a shocker for the WWE Universe.
A few moments later, Rollins admitted that he has had two fractures in his lumbar spine since 2019 and that it required surgery somewhere down the line. However, the Visionary was ready for the challenge Nakamura brought, and both men are now set to collide at Payback 2023. With the battlefield set, let’s take a look at three reasons why it's time to finally give Nakamura the World Title and two reasons why that title might be better off sticking with Seth.
5 Shouldn’t retain: Shinsuke Nakamura could add a lot of interesting storylines to the mix
Seth Rollins has already defeated the likes of Finn Balor and Damian Priest during his reign as the World Heavyweight Championship. On the other hand, Shinsuke Nakamura has not had a match with these top stars lately. While Nakamura has been involved in storylines with the likes of Bronson Reed and Tommaso Ciampa, a World Heavyweight Championship victory could add a lot of new and interesting feuds into the mix.
Eventually, someone like Brock Lesnar defeating Nakamura could be a very good way to end The King of Strong Style’s reign as the champion and keep him on the top of the roster. A rematch against Seth Rollins could also be used to end Nakamura’s reign, eventually getting The Visionary back on top.
4 Should retain: Shinsuke Nakamura is not ready to rule over Monday Night Raw
After some intriguing storylines with Tommaso Ciampa and Bronson Reed, Shinsuke Nakamura has been pushed to the World title scene very fast. Rather, an Intercontinental Championship run could help him get to the top of the roster, which could then potentially lead to a run as World Heavyweight Champion.
Nakamura defeating Rollins at Payback seems to be an early option for now. Though the King of Strong Style has the caliber to be at the top of the division, it doesn’t seem like his sudden heel turn should be accompanied by the World Title, at least for now.
3 Shouldn’t retain: Shinsuke Nakamura deserves World Championship glory
Since Triple H has taken charge, Shinsuke Nakamura has returned to TV with decent storylines throughout. Before that, The King of Strong Style wasn’t given a lot of opportunities to showcase his talent in recent years. However, Nakamura has been in the world title picture before. Being the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble winner, The King of Strong Style had a massive storyline with AJ Styles going into WrestleMania 34 and carrying all the way into the Money In The Bank premium live event that year.
Returning to a heel character has been welcomed very well by the WWE Universe. With Nakamura getting back to the world title picture, a possible victory against Seth Rollins would be a massive boost for his career. With Rollins having two victories over Nakamura in the past, the latter winning would be a great decision by WWE.
2 Should retain: Seth Rollins has a lot of to give to the WWE Universe as the champion
While Seth Rollins’ reign as the World Heavyweight Championship has been commendable, The Visionary is still short of some big title defenses before losing it to someone. Undoubtedly, the WWE Universe has been enjoying Seth Rollins’ character and his title reign to the fullest currently.
Though Rollins has had a lot of successful title defenses, taking the title off Rollins won’t be the perfect decision for now. Fans have been waiting for Rollins to defend the title against the likes of Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar. Though these matches might not be in plans currently, a big match against any of these stars could bring a lot of prestige to the World Heavyweight Championship and could help enhance Rollins’ reign.
1 Shouldn’t retain: Seth Rollins must have a surgery now
Undoubtedly, Seth Rollins is one of the top stars in the industry currently. Suffering through two fractures in the spine for four years isn’t a very good decision. Though this surgery should’ve been done a long time ago, Rollins’ commitment to the fans and the industry is stopping him from taking a break.
However, since the injury has been announced, the WWE Universe has been worried if things turn out to be career-threatening in the future. If this happens, fans won’t be able to digest a star of that caliber taking a step back due to an injury.
With the current storyline going, Shinsuke Nakamura defeating Rollins for the title would be a good way to write the latter off TV. This would allow him time for healing and rehabilitation. A return around WrestleMania could be a great way to bring him back on TV. With the amount of shows Rollins does in a week, a break for him is very well deserved.