WWE SmackDown Superstar Ali has confirmed that the rumored feud between himself and current Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura, has been nixed.
Responding to a fan question via Twitter, Ali was asked if the feud was simply dropped. Ali, who would have most likely have received a championship match if it had gone ahead, simply responded: “Yes.”
Ali vs Nakamura had reportedly been in the works for WWE’s upcoming pay-per-view, Clash of Champions. There was no build or development on last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, suggesting the promotion has no interest in it at this point in time.
Although he was not featured on the show itself, Ali did compete last night during the pre-SmackDown dark match. He lost to Samoa Joe.
Nakamura & Zayn
Instead, WWE appears to be going in a new direction with both Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn.
“There are so many people on SmackDown that need my help,” Zayn commented before introducing Shinsuke Nakamura during MizTV. It didn’t take long for the two to turn on The Miz and assault him. Their actions firmly established their newfound alliance on the blue brand.
Whether the long-term plan is for them to become a tag team or to simply have Zayn act as a mouthpiece for Nakamura is not known at this time.
