Hardy vs. Nakamura US title match pulled from WWE SmackDown
Just a few hours before it was supposed to happen, WWE announced that the Jeff Hardy vs. Shinsuke Nakamura United States Championship match that was scheduled to headline tonight’s SmackDown has been pulled from the show.
While offering few other details, WWE put out a video this afternoon noting that Nakamura suffered an injury last night and won’t be able to compete today. Nakamura didn’t work SmackDown’s Monday night house show in Bakersfield, California, and Dave Meltzer has confirmed that Nakamura was bit in the leg by a police dog at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield yesterday.
Whether or not Nakamura will be able to wrestle at WWE’s house shows in Japan this weekend is uncertain at this point.
For tonight’s show, WWE is advertising that Hardy will instead defend the US title in an open challenge. Rusev vs. Xavier Woods, Becky Lynch vs. Peyton Royce, and Miz TV with The Bludgeon Brothers are also set, along with cast members from Netflix’s GLOW appearing.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.