Shinsuke Nakamura has been declared the one true King of WWE.
Friday night’s SmackDown on FOX featured a “Battle for the Crown” match with Nakamura defeating King Baron Corbin, with Corbin’s crown on the line.
Ring announcer Greg Hamilton announced after the match that Nakamura is now the one true King of WWE. Nakamura, joined by Rick Boogs performing his entrance again this week, hit the stage after the match and sat in Corbin’s throne. Boogs then placed the crown on his head to begin the celebration. The crown was displayed on a podium on the stage during the match.
Nakamura and Corbin have feuded over Corbin’s crown for several weeks now, with Boogs helping Nakamura keep possession of the gold, which Corbin captured in 2019 after winning the King of the Ring tournament. This was also the final match in a recent Best of 5 Series between Nakamura and Corbin. Corbin first won on the May 14 SmackDown, Nakamura won on the May 21 SmackDown, but then Corbin won again on the June 4 SmackDown. Nakamura tied it up on June 11, and then broke the tie on tonight’s show.
As we’ve noted, there has been talk of bringing the King of the Ring tournament back this year. It will be interesting to see if Nakamura’s big win leads to that happening. It will also be interesting to see if WWE drops the “King” from Corbin’s name.
Stay tuned for more on Nakamura and Corbin. Below are several shots and video clips of Friday night’s “Battle for the Crown” from the WWE ThunderDome at the Yuengling Center in Tampa:
