Isenberg Reacts: Previewing SummerSlam From The Smackdown Live Side

August 16, 2017

WWE World Championship

shinsuke-nakamura-triple-h-wwe — Photo Credit: WWE

The man who walked out of the Barclays Center as NXT Champion a year ago will compete for his first WWE World Championship on Sunday. Shinsuke Nakamura will face off against Jinder Mahal in a very intriguing, yet surprising match. I am very surprised WWE has kept the gold around Mahal’s waist for this long, but I do feel it is the right decision. This match has the makings to be really, really good. I fear, however, that it will not live up to the hype because of the short build.

Nakamura does not need to speak for 10 minutes to get over, especially in Brooklyn. Jinder Mahal has gotten so much better over the past two months on the mic, but he still needed a few more weeks to make this personal. All that it feels is that it is for the title and no backstory is needed. That is okay because Nakamura should leave WWE SummerSlam as the new WWE World Championship. What happens with him next? Well, Mahal will certainly get another shot at the gold and then I can easily see Shinsuke compete with someone like Rusev or Baron Corbin towards the fall. If Nakamura wins now, WWE must have him hold it until WrestleMania or have AJ Styles win it somehow without giving away the inevitable Nakamura vs. Styles World Championship match in New Orleans.

This should be the beginning of the “Strong Style Champion.” Give me Nak (not Hak) vs. Mahal in a hard hitting 15-20 minute match and let the man who changed NXT become the new face of Smackdown Live.

@JoshIsenberg4 on Twitter.

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.
Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.
Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.
His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.

Follow @JoshIsenberg4