Tonight on SmackDown, RAW Superstar AJ Styles will square off against Shinsuke Nakamura in a first-round match as part of the tournament to crown a new Intercontinental Champion.
Fans have been wondering, though, what will happen if Styles beats Nakamura to advance into the semis? Also, what happens if Styles ends up winning the whole thing? Now it seems we may have some answers for these questions.
AJ Styles’ past history with Shinsuke Nakamura is reportedly the reason behind the for his inclusion in the Intercontinental Title tournament
In his latest video, Tom Colohue (Sportskeeda’s Senior Journalist) addressed the rumors surrounding the Phenomenal One’s role in the ongoing tournament. He revealed:
Tom offered his personal view on the likelihood of Styles advancing into the later rounds of the tournament.
Well, AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura certainly makes for an interesting first-round match. Back in 2018, the two feuded over Styles’ WWE Championship. Their heated rivalry culminated at Money in the Bank 2018, with the “Phenomenal One” defeating Nakamura in a Last Man Standing bout to retain his title.
Although Nakamura has been rumored to be getting the win on SmackDown, we can’t rule out AJ Styles just yet. As stated above, the Brand-to-Brand Invitational allows every Superstar to show up on the opposite brand up to four times a year.
Therefore, if Styles was to advance against Nakamura, he would still technically be able to make three more appearances on the blue brand in 2020. This would be enough, of course, to allow Styles to compete in the entire Intercontinental Championship tournament.
There are a good number of options for WWE to consider when selecting the next Intercontinental Champion. Whichever way the company chooses to go, the tournament itself should be a thrilling watch.
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