Shinsuke Nakamura will face Jey Uso on the January 15 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Kayla Braxton announced the match at the beginning of WWE Talking Smack, calling it a chance for revenge after Nakamura was robbed of a Universal Championship opportunity by Roman Reigns and Uso.
Shinsuke had an incredible showing in the #1 Contender Gauntlet Match on January 8, eliminating Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin, and Daniel Bryan. Unfortunately, earlier in the night, Reigns took exception with Adam Pearce's managerial decisions, namely giving Kevin Owens a match with Uso the week prior, and set out to prove that he is the one who runs SmackDown. Paul Heyman pulled some strings and had Pearce entered into the match.
The Tribal Chief and Uso accompanied Pearce to the ring and laid waste to Nakamura, hitting him with a superkick, superman punch, and spear. After being knocked out himself, Pearce was thrown on top of Nakamura, winning the match and a title opportunity at the Royal Rumble event.
The full segment can be seen in the video below, via WWE's YouTube channel.
To relive all the action from SmackDown, visit Fightful's live coverage.
Sean Ross Sapp and Jeremy Lambert's Post-Show Review can be found here.
