Fantasy Booking The Perfect Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Daniel Bryan Feud

Daniel Bryan has just recently been cleared by the WWE, and it has opened up some amazing dream matches. But if you ask both men, none are bigger than Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Daniel Bryan who have a very long history together and could make some magic in the ring if given the right time and story. Both had huge stories and matches at WrestleMania 34, and the backlash of these will likely not allow for either to come together in the near future. But with WrestleMania 35 and SummerSlam looking for the biggest matches possible, this has to happen at either show, and here’s why.

Back in the day, when Bryan was wrestling on the independent scene as The American Dragon, he spent plenty of time all around the world and that included rooming with The King of Strong Style over a decade ago. Even though Nakamura didn’t get along with their other roommate (Lyoto Machida), these two became great friends, and as soon as Nakamura to WWE was confirmed, both men wanted the match. Shinsuke might not be as over as the WWE would have hoped by now, but he’s now having some great matches after winning the Royal Rumble, and WWE still thinks highly of him to place him in a co-main event at WrestleMania.

As for the match itself, their clash of styles would make for an interesting bout, with Nakamura’s flair, presence and strong style conflicting perfectly with the technical acumen and high flying of Bryan. If the WWE are confident in Bryan’s health, the contrast would make it a hard-hitting, fast paced affair. So how do the WWE bring these two together with a meaningful and entertaining story?

Both men are incredibly popular with the crowd and before a match can be made between the two, WWE need to make a decision on whether Bryan will remain GM or return to a full-time wrestling capacity. But for the purposes of this, we will say that WWE do indeed fire him as GM, perhaps part of a Shane McMahon heel turn?

Either way, this match should happen at WrestleMania 35, and the best way to do that is have them contest for the WWE Championship. With Bryan being the ultimate underdog and beloved by the fans, we need to begin seeing him lose big matches, and the story will continue on as the rest of WWE passing Bryan by while he was injured, and maybe that he’s no longer the top guy he once was. While this is going on, Nakamura would be reigning as WWE Champion, taking out all the top challengers like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Finn Balor, Cesaro and others, all while putting on the best matches possible. So when a Bryan-Nakamura confrontation finally occurs, it further rattles Bryan’s confidence, because Nakamura is at his absolute best while Bryan is questioning whether he belongs in the WWE anymore. Although the fans absolutely adore Bryan, this would have them questioning his abilities, and it may even lead to him giving up on himself and on the crowd. Just 5-6 months after he is cleared to perform again, Bryan will have to go home to sort out his career and his goals.

While all this is going on, with Bryan losing match after match, Nakamura continues to grow. Swagsuke becomes cocky even, and after dispatching of his latest victim at the Royal Rumble, Bryan would make his shocking return at No. 1 in the annual match and go all the way, showing us the old Daniel Bryan we can all believe in, and the two would stare down to end the iconic event. By this time, Nakamura and his infinite amounts of confidence will have been joined by a heel manager (possibly Paul Heyman, probably another new face to the WWE Universe), and with his year long reign as WWE Champion still adding new layers and evolving, it would become a genuine dream match. Fans would be eager to see the two collide, especially after Nakamura ditches the fans and his iconic theme song as he becomes too heavily influenced by this new managerial force.

This would lead to the main event of WrestleMania 35, where the ultimate underdog would battle the cocky champion in a no-DQ match. Although Nakamura is now a heel, he is still a great in ring performer, so the match itself would be fantastic, but as hard as Bryan tried, he could never quite put Shinsuke away. Kick out after kick out, Nakamura just won’t go down, leading to frustration on Bryan’s behalf, and although he was a fan favorite, his frustration got the best of him. Bryan's desire to win for the WWE Universe leads him to do some underhanded things to get the win, but it’s still not enough. Bryan snaps, and he signals to the back, and emerging from the curtain is a very familiar four men, The Undisputed Era and Roderick Strong. They are men who were inspired by Bryan in Ring of Honor who’ve now come to his aid and help him come out victorious, leading to a new stable at the top of SmackDown Live. This also allows for a potential heel turn from Bryan, who for the first time in his career felt that the WWE Universe wasn’t enough help.

Through plenty of self-doubt, Bryan got the job done, and the four men who now join him in the newest stable are popular with the crowd. But Bryan’s tactics weren’t very savory, and as time goes on, he begins to take advantage of the WWE Universe in a way we’ve never seen before. Either way, this would continue on in a Nexus-style invasion throughout the summer, with Nakamura needing to recruit some of his friends to help battle Bryan. Although it’s hard to give every detail of the entire angle, this is definitely enough to work with, as it takes us from now until next WrestleMania, where it ultimately gives us Bryan vs. Nakamura in one of WWE’s current biggest dream matches.