Caution! Warning! All-out bedlam has just been guaranteed at SummerSlam. WWE.com has learned that United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura will once again go to war against Jeff Hardy at The Biggest Event of The Summer, with Randy Orton no doubt lurking in the shadows.
Hardy’s United States Championship reign ended in shocking fashion at WWE Extreme Rules, as The Charismatic Enigma suffered a demoralizing, near-immediate title loss to Nakamura. Before the opening bell, The King of Strong Style floored Hardy with his now signature move — a savage low blow — behind the ref’s back. Hardy struggled to his feet and insisted on starting the match, only to suffer an instant Kinshasa that snapped his reign and landed the nefarious Artist the first championship of his WWE tenure. And it would only get worse for Harty, who suffered a surprise post-match attack by none other than Randy Orton, who also delivered a ruthless low blow.
Then, at the height of his U.S. Title rematch on SmackDown LIVE, Jeff seemed to have Nakamura down for the count after hitting him with a picture-perfect Swanton Bomb. However, outta nowhere, Orton emerged to break up Jeff’s pin attempt and savagely attacked The Charismatic Enigma. Though Hardy picked up the win by disqualification, The Viper proceeded to unleash a nearly-unspeakable post-match assault on his prey, which he concluded by DDT’ing Hardy off the table, as Nakamura watched from a distance.
When Hardy returned weeks later to SmackDown to answer the attack from Orton, he suffered dual onslaughts, first by Nakamura and then again by The Viper, who wiped the paint off Hardy’s face in a moment he later described as “erasing The Enigma.”
With so much turmoil surrounding the United States Championship rematch between the titleholder and one of the most extreme Superstars in WWE history, the WWE Universe is left asking just how much chaos awaits at The Biggest Event of the Summer? Moreover, will WWE’s Apex Predator once again look to play a painful role?
Find out when SummerSlam invades the Barclays Center, Sunday, Aug. 19, at 7 ET/4 PT, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network!
