Shinsuke Nakamura Beats Kevin Owens in Their 1st-Ever WWE SmackDown Live Match

In their first televised WWE singles match, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated United States champion Kevin Owens on Tuesday night's episode of SmackDown Live.

WWE shared an image of Nakamura's pin:

After the match, Baron Corbin would emerge and attack Nakamura, hitting him with the End of Days, via WWE Universe:

WrestlingINC.com and Denny Burkholder of CBS Sports provided their takes on the Nakamura-Owens portion of the match:

Tuesday's match was the continuation of a recent rivalry between Nakamura and KO that first entered the spotlight two weeks ago.

SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon initially attempted to put Nakamura in the Money in the Bank ladder match over Owens, but the U.S. titleholder managed to force his way in as well.

Later that same night, Owens was pinned by Nakamura following a Kinshasa in a tag team match that also included AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler.

Last week, Nakamura was Owens' guest on "The Highlight Reel," and The New Face of America used the platform as an opportunity to insult The King of Strong Style.

That led to another tag match involving Owens, Baron Corbin, Nakamura and Sami Zayn, with Nakamura once again pinning KO.

Since signing with WWE, Nakamura has largely been bulletproof. Although he did lose once to Samoa Joe and twice to Bobby Roode in NXT, he entered Tuesday's match being portrayed as a dominant force.

Nakamura defeated Ziggler in his main roster debut match at Backlash, and WWE has stressed his aura and rock-star persona in the weeks since then.

Owens has been left unimpressed and seemingly feeling slighted by the universal backing of Nakamura despite the fact that he wasn't called up from NXT until after WrestleMania.

Nakamura and Owens have a long history together that predates their time in WWE, as they first faced each other as part of an ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds show in 2014.

Tuesday's match was under different circumstances, and there is little doubt that both men have developed into far bigger Superstars over the past few years.

The bout was significant in terms of building up momentum heading toward Money in the Bank, and with Nakamura scoring his third win in a row over Owens, he may very well be the favorite to secure the briefcase.

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