– Former NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura will be getting an opportunity to challenge for the WWE Championship. WWE is advertising Jinder Mahal defending the championship against Nakamura at SmackDown live events next weekend. It should be noted that Randy Orton is not advertised to work those shows and it appears that Nakamura is just filling in for Orton on live events. Here are the matches that are being advertised for the SmackDown live event in Everett, WA on June 25th:
* Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship
* Kevin Owens vs. Mojo Rawley for the US Championship
* The New Day vs. The Usos vs. Breezango for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
– As noted, Roman Reigns will be making an announcement regarding his plans for the SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on next week’s episode of RAW. Once WWE announced the news, fans started speculating who would be Reigns’ opponent at the event would be. The top name that has been rumored is John Cena, who will be returning to WWE TV on the July 4th episode of SmackDown Live. He will be a ‘free agent’ when he returns to television, which means that he could appear on RAW and SmackDown Live. Dave Meltzer said on Tuesday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio that he was told that Cena would not be Reigns opponent. Another name that has been rumored is Goldberg, who recently shared a photo of himself looking in great shape. Reigns took to Twitter to hype his announcement. He sent out this tweet:
– Baron Corbin will be the honorary starter for this Saturday’s NASCAR Drivin’ For Lineman 200 in St. Louis, Missouri. Corbin is scheduled to compete in the Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match along with AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn at this Sunday’s event.
