Someone Must Lose?

Do either Shinsuke Namakura or Asuka have to lose at Wrestle Mania?

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It is harder and harder to try to figure out if one of these great wrestlers should lose or not at Wrestle Mania 34. Nakamura and Asuka are two wonderful talents embarking on, arguably, their biggest match of their respective careers. But to put it in perspective, both wrestlers just won huge marquee matches. Nakamura won the men’s Royal Rumble, which was considered to be one of the best to ever go down. Asuka, well, she only won the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble in WWE. Both put a stamp on WWE and will now help headline the “Show of Shows.”

It seems as if it is hard to believe that both will win big yet again, right? After making history at the Royal Rumble the question that looms is if they can both make history again at Wrestle Mania?

The case for Nakamura to lose

Shinsuke Nakamura is an obvious case of great wrestling demonstrated night after night from city to city. In many ways I felt a little surprised by his win at the Royal Rumble but was ultimately happy about it. Nakamura winning the Rumble and challenging AJ Styles is huge and for many, including me, is a dream match to see at this level. Wrestle Mania is the show of shows for good reason and this match signifies that. The expectation is a five star match and I am sure that is something we will get close to seeing.

One of the reasons for my surprise is the fact that he (Nakamura) hasn’t necessarily been built as a Wrestle Mania headliner. He had a wonderful run in NXT and started out great on the main roster for SDLive but then he lost in a championship match to Jinder Mahal. This upped Mahal for sure but damaged Nakamura as he quickly faded and became a “in the background” type of talent. Fortunately for everyone’s amusement his fade quickly made a turnaround.

Now, back to his dominance and back to being built the way he should be built I can trust that WWE is finally treating him with the respect he has both earned and deserves.

With that said, Nakamura needs to lose at Wrestle Mania and heres why.

Nakamura is highly regarded as one of the best, toughest and most dominant wrestlers in the world. His popularity is world renowned and when he does lose people tend to suggest that he shouldn’t have. He excels in the ring with his “strong style” attack, one that is best on display in his Takeover match with Sami Zayn. In fact, thinking of that match, this is the type of performance I expect to see out of Nakamura. It’s the type of match I expect too, just better. AJ in place of Sami screams five star and again, yes that’s what we expect but it won’t be in favor of Nakamura.

Instead this win goes to AJ Styles. His pedigree only grows and his case for champion Reigns supreme as one of the best in history even in his short span.

Smack Down then goes on to go get a few new talents on the roster that can challenge “the face that runs the place” and ultimately elevate the programming. Styles has been great as champion and Wrestle Mania win only elevates him further and cements his legacy just that much more.

The only real question is if Nakamuta can suffer this magnitude of a loss and still be see as valuable in WWE? That might be a question for another time.

The only other thing to consider in respect to Nakamura is if WWE trusts him to carry the title? Nakamura is certainly worth between the ropes but in WWE the other half of the battle is communicating to the audience. I for one think he does his talking in the ring but WWE may not see that the same way. So yes, the spotlight is on him now but will that glow even brighter in the days, weeks and months following Wrestle Mania?

The Case for Asuka to lose

Asuka has easily been the most dominant woman in Wrestling over the past few years. Since she began in NXT in 2015 she has since gone undefeated and continues to be so heading into Wrestle Mania.

It is important to note that this is a huge deal. WWE continues to talk of her like the dominant force that she is. As recent as this last PPV for Raw, Asuka even took down the “most dominant” woman Raw had to offer up and prevailed over Nia Jax. While Jax is great and overwhelmingly powerful, the end result was with Asuka having her hand raised.

But with all of that said, she must lose.

The reason Asuka is set to lose at Wrestle Mania is because of shock value. If Asuka does lose this would be the biggest shock and most talked about happening at Wrestle Mania 34. People would be infuriated and confused. They would tweet in anger in agglomeration. The flood of tweets would be trending world wide and the end result would be a win for WWE because everyone would be talking about the event and their unfortunate disappointment.

This makes sense because at the end of the day WWE wants people talking about them and the biggest show they have, Wrestle Mania. Asuka and what was supposed to be the ultimate pay off just would never ultimately come to fruition. Alexa Bliss would reign supreme but would somehow be lost in the conversation while the WWE Universe would be clamouring to “Cancel the Network!”

The case for Nakamura to win

Nakamura vs AJ Styles should be one of the more physical and most technical matchups on the entire Wrestle Mania card. Both bring a style that has a tendency to be jaw-dropping and some what shocking at times. Most fans look forward to a world class showing between both performers and more than likely this is what will happen.

Nakamura had an incredible run in NXT, one where he seemed fairly unbeatable, however he did lose even if it was in rare form. Since his departure from NXT and moving up to the main roster Nakamura has been good but not great. The problem from afar seems that he is not unleashing the full worth of his talent. I have yet to see a performance of his capability since leaving NXT. He has had some good matches but nothing where I was in awe of him. Those type of matches happened in NXT.

If Nakamura ever had a platform to be showcased, that platform is absolutely Wrestle Mania. His physical style and technical ability will certainly bring the best out of AJ Styles but will AJ Styles have enough left in the tank?

No matter what, by the time we get to Wrestle Mania the story is going to be that Nakamura is the fresher, less beat up of the two while AJ Styles is the battle tested warrior looking to continue his dominance at ‘Mania.

Styles schedule as champion has been a tough one and it only gets harder as he faces five other opponents at the Fastlane PPV. Before that match he has consistently battled the likes of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and has been made to look like a tiring but relentless champion. The more Styles continues down this path the more WWE could play up on it.

The other side of this is Nakamura. He has not had the same schedule as AJ but he does continue to get in his reps and find ways to win. Nakamura will undoubtely enter Wrestle Mania healthy and with a lot of confidence as he continues to build momentum to the “Grandest Stage of them All.”

With all of this said WWE can of course go one of two ways with this story but the best way moving forward is Nakamura. The fans are behind his rise and factor number two, which is more imporant than the fatigue of Styles, is the fact that Smack Down needs a new face at the top.

Factor in fatigue and a new look Smack Down with Nakamura taking the lead, then WWE can finally head into this new(er) era of wrestling in the company. Nakamura brings new creative, new direction, new matches and rivalries for Smack Down. All of this is good news because more so than Raw, Smack Down needs a shot in the arm. Nakamura is the perfect shock to the system in reigniting a once celebrated brand. The brand has been slacking the past few months and is looking for anything to make it better. Simply put, Nakamura with the title around his waist makes it better.

The case for Asuka to win

We have established that Asuka is the most dominant force in all of WWE. It is a certainty that she has been one of the most dominant wrestlers in WWE in many, many years. Undefeated since debuting in NXT three years ago is something quite absurd to think about in modern WWE but Asuka is living through it and rightfully so.

She is great in the ring. She feels like a bad ass. She has the look of a dominant fighter and she plays a character that can kill you with a smile. Everything about her is perfect within the wrestling business and WWE has done an outstanding job of building her and building her and building her and now were here. Were at the point where the whole story cumulates at the biggest event in wrestling, Wrestle Mania.

It only makes sense that she wins at Wrestle Mania otherwise all of this build to this point would just be pointless and somewhat confusing.

WWE made a decision to keep her away from Charlotte and they did this on purpose. Charlotte is going to be a major headlining battle and while a perfect bout for ‘Mania season it’s not a bout fans may be ready for. This is why we get Asuka vs Alexa Bliss.

Bliss for one has been great for the title. She has elevated it and proved that not only is she a great champion but an awesome heel at the same time. Her come up over the last few years has truly proved her worth in this ‘Mania match. However, she is destined to lose. In fact many believed she wouldn’t even walk into ‘Mania with the strap and would instead drop it to someone like a Sasha Banks or a Bayley in the Elimination Chamber. That didn’t happen and Alexa found a way to survive. That same tactic “survive” is exactly what she will have to do in her matchup with Asuka.

My expectation is a match of quality but I also expect Alexa to play her role really well. She won’t want any part of Asuka and will run and hide until Asuka forces Alexa to fight. Alexa will maybe even almost get the surprise pinfall but the the ultimate winner and dominator will be Asuka.

Asuka is winning because it is her destiny. Alexa is losing because it his hers.

**This article was written assuming we do see one on one matches and those matches consist of Asuka vs Bliss and Nakamura vs Styles.