Why It's Not Too Early for AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Feud on SmackDown

Last Sunday during the men's Money in the Bank ladder match, fans came unglued as Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles whetted their whistles with their first one-on-one, physical encounter in WWE. Given their classic series of matches in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Nakamura and Styles are destined to have at least one more high-profile clash in the biggest pro wrestling company in the world.

And while Nakamura and Styles' rivalry seems to be bound for WrestleMania, it may behoove WWE to begin setting the wheels in motion for a SummerSlam feud. 

Both Raw and SmackDown Live saw significant increases in viewership this past week now that the NBA Finals are over. With SummerSlam—the WrestleMania of the summer—on deck for the blue brand, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles would greatly bolster a card that will also feature names like Brock Lesnar and John Cena. 

Both Raw and SmackDown Live stand to keep rising next week as Brock Lesnar returns to the Staples Center while SmackDown Live will feature its first-ever televised Money in the Bank match.

Nakamura vs. Styles will not only be one of the biggest matches on that card, but on paper, it should be the best. With high-profile feuds for a loaded SummerSlam card, WWE will be able to better rebuild its audience during a window of time when viewers are up for grabs. 

Nakamura and Styles should also happen sooner than later because neither is getting younger. Nakamura turned 37 years of age in February, while Styles turned 40 earlier this month. With both wrestling lengthy careers that featured extremely physical matches through the independent and international circuit, Father Time is standing more adjacent to them than just about anyone else. 

Styles and Nakamura are two lions in the winter. And based on the fan reaction when Nakamura tossed the ladder aside to do battle with his old foe, this is a match that WWE's audience—which has shrunk, aged and skewed more hardcore over the years, according to a report by the Sports Business Journal—will enjoy.

This is a match that will represent comfort food for longtime wrestling fans while also having an appeal to newer wrestling fans who know Nakamura from NXT and Styles as a former WWE champion who had a memorable rivalry with Cena. 

But if WWE plans on banking this match until WrestleMania, it's playing a dangerous game by waiting eight months and hoping two high-mileage veterans will remain upright. In a best-case scenario, Styles and Nakamura do meet up at WrestleMaina but only as a rematch following a show-stopping affair at SummerSlam. 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.