It’s an Exciting Potentiality to think of Nakamura and Cesaro as Singles Competitors Once Again
When in singles, that’s where both of these guys are at their best from an athletic standpoint; maybe not in terms of character-sizzle, as Mr. McMahon calls it.
Shinsuke Nakamura turned heel in 2018 at WrestleMania 34 in a dream match with AJ Styles for the WWE championship (Nakamura won the 2018 men’s Royal Rumble match in January). It might be rather poetic then for him to turn babyface in another encounter of a potential dream match with Daniel Bryan in the gauntlet match to determine the number one contender for the Universal title at Royal Rumble 2021 on the January 8 SmackDown. If WWE were to move forward with this plan of turning Nakamura face, the tag team between him and Cesaro would likely split. Their tag team is a heel team, so it doesn’t make much sense to keep them paired together through a face turn.
The team of Nakamura and Cesaro was formed at the end of 2019 to serve as backup for Sami Zayn because WWE didn’t have anything else planned for these three men. Nakamura and Cesaro won the SmackDown Tag titles at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July and would hold the titles until October when they dropped them to The New Day – Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
The idea of Nakamura potentially turning face as a singles competitor opens the door for the possibility of Cesaro becoming a singles competitor also and establishing himself as a legitimate threat for the Universal championship. Even if this does not come to fruition, Cesaro could be expected to stand up to the Head of The Table for attacking his friend within the next couple of weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble 2021.
While the door has absolutely been open for Nakamura to be positioned as a top babyface contender to Roman Reigns’ Universal championship going forward, Adam Pearce is being positioned as the challenger for the title at Royal Rumble. While Shinsuke would be the choice if Mr. McMahon were purely booking the event for the better match, Pearce undoubtedly provides the more intriguing story and draws more eyeballs to the company. The five-time NWA world heavyweight champion/former PWG world champion on the independent scene should be able to provide a decent match at 42 years old.
Pearce is currently playing the role of a subordinate employee who does not have much more power than is being given to by higher-ups in WWE. He was introduced as an on-screen authority figure in the summer of 2020, and he has executed his heart in the story well. This upcoming Universal title match against Roman Reigns was most likely the primary reason Adam Pearce agreed to participate in this on-screen storyline; because anyone would relish in the opportunity to work with the top superstar in WWE.