WWE Battleground 2017 Must Lead to AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam

Amid all the tepidness that has been the build to WWE Battleground 2017, hints of a dream match—AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura—have emerged.

Each SmackDown Superstar has a high-profile bout at Sunday's pay-per-view. Styles is set to defend the United States Championship. Nakamura will take on Baron Corbin in a grudge match.

Styles' and Nakamura's current feuds, though, should end at Battleground in Philadelphia and give way to a battle between them at SummerSlam August 20.

Credit: WWE.com

There are few more electric options WWE has at its disposal for the summer blockbuster PPV. WWE would assure itself a classic at the event should it send Nakamura after The Phenomenal One. It would increase the spotlight on the United States title and give Nakamura the marquee rival he's been missing along the way.

That bout is not one fans are pulling out of the depths of the imagination, either; it's one WWE has teased.

At Money in the Bank, Styles and Nakamura stared each other down during the event's signature ladder match before trading blows. Their brief, violent exchange was one of the highlights of the contest.

On Tuesday's SmackDown, before Nakamura and Styles went to battle together against Owens and Corbin in a tag team main event, The King of Strong Style made his title aspirations clear. He pointed to the U.S. title and told the champ: "One day, you call and I answer."

That bit of foreshadowing was enough to set the WWE fanbase abuzz. 

Styles and Nakamura are not only two of the top performers on the roster today, they have big-time street cred with the Internet Wrestling Community. Styles' tenures at TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling have made him a favorite of diehards for a long while. Nakamura is an internet darling himself thanks to wide-eyed fans watching his work in Japan.Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman joked about the power of Styles and Nakamura getting together:

WWE should tap into that at SummerSlam. Much like WrestleMania, that event is at its best when it has something for everybody. It should be a variety show, one filled with comedy and savagery, spectacle and the kind of in-ring magic Styles and Nakamura are bound to produce.

Thanks to an increasingly crowded Universal Championship picture, it looks as if Brock Lesnar is set to defend his crown in a four-way hoss fight. Becky Lynch and MMA fighter Cris Cyborg continue to bicker on Twitter, teasing the possibility of a SummerSlam meeting between them. John Cena may be charging after Jinder Mahal in a battle for love of country.

Adding Styles vs. Nakamura to that mix would appease the most passionate corner of WWE's audience.

And there is already momentum to build on as those two collided for NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Just the way WWE imported the Owens vs. Sami Zayn feud from Ring of Honor, it's a no-brainer to bring Styles and Nakamura's NJPW into the WWE realm.

The company knows the two men click at an elite level together. 

Nakamura vs. Styles I was tremendous. ProWrestling.net columnist Will Pruett wrote of that bout: "Great psychology. Great near-falls. Great all-around big match. You must see this match."

Revisiting that on the grand stage that is SummerSlam is an easy decision.

Nakamura can get a measure of revenge against Corbin at Battleground by knocking off the big man. That would give The King of Strong Style a PPV win to go with his victory over Dolph Ziggler at Backlash.

He can proclaim that he wants a crack at the U.S. title next.

Styles, meanwhile, can finish off Owens on Sunday and begin to issue open challenges every Tuesday. Eventually, that can lead to Nakamura answering the call as he promised and a rivalry blossoming between two keystones of the New Era just in time for SummerSlam.

Their return bout will give the U.S. title one of its most star-studded contests in SummerSlam history.

Styles and Nakamura would both have fitting rivals. SmackDown would represent itself quite well at the PPV.

And the action promises to be special once the bell rings. 

On the potential of that contest, Kyle Fowle of the A.V. Club wrote: "There's no limit to how emotionally powerful, and technically astonishing, a match these two could put on at a future PPV."

That future PPV Fowle spoke of should be SummerSlam. If WWE wants to convince its fans that the August event really is the WrestleMania of the summer, adding a bout like this is a must.

Battleground's stories need to make room for the masterpiece that will be Nakamura vs. Styles.