AJ Styles is set to put his career on the line against GUNTHER at the Royal Rumble inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia next weekend, but before that, he'll face one of his years-long rivals, both in WWE and for a handful of matches in NJPW, Shinsuke Nakamura. "WWE SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis invited Styles to Friday's show after hearing he was gambling with his career, and he revealed in a backstage segment that Nakamura wanted to speak with him.
Nakamura asked if Styles was really willing to lose everything at the Rumble. He said if so, before Styles steps in the ring with GUNTHER, Nakamura wanted him to prove he's still "Phenomenal." He challenged him to a match at Saturday Night's Main Event, which Styles accepted.
Styles and Nakamura put on a classic at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 10 back in 2016.The pair also faced off on opposite sides of various tag teams for three other matches in Japan. Following both their signings to WWE, the company kept them apart for well over a year before locking them in a feud in 2018, following Nakamura's Royal Rumble victory. The pair faced off at WrestleMania 34, with five televised singles matches to follow.Their most recent match came on a May 2020 edition of "SmackDown."
The match is the fourth on the SNME card, with the four-way match to determined Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's first opponent set to main event. Elsewhere on the card, Cody Rhodes will face Jacob Fatu and Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY will put the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on the line against Judgment Day's Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez.
