Following a harsh spat on social media yesterday, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defended the title against Roman Reigns to kick off things on Friday Night SmackDown.
The match was as physical as could be with both Superstars looking to wear down the other in pursuit of the coveted title. As the match began to rage on, though, The Big Dog garnered an incredible amount of momentum, and after surviving a perfectly applied Triangle submission hold from The King of Strong Style, it appeared that Reigns was closing in on victory. This, of course, worried Sami Zayn at ringside, who bolted from his position at the announcer’s table in an effort to distract Roman — but to no such avail. Reigns would connect with a clutch Superman Punch that seemed to be setting him up for surefire victory. However, before Reigns could connect with his signature Spear, King Corbin, who had exchanged words of his own with Reigns earlier in the day on Twitter, would bash The Big Dog with his scepter, leading to a disqualification.
Nakamura and Corbin would try to beat Roman down, but Reigns’ newfound ally Daniel Bryan would dart out in efforts to help. Bryan would get the opposition reeling for a few moments, but the numbers game became too great for him to overcome, with Zayn stopping Bryan short, allowing Nakamura to strike him with a ring-rattling Kinshasa.