A Shinsuke Nakamura Win vs. Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam Would Be Disaster for WWE

Imagine going back in time two years ago ahead of SummerSlam 2015, an event headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker and Seth Rollins vs. John Cena, and telling an avid fan that SummerSlam 2017 would be headlined by a WWE Championship bout between Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura.

The two men in this SmackDown headliner were not even on the WWE radar a few years ago and have evolved quickly on the main roster. Nakamura had his first match on the main roster at Backlash 2017, the same night Mahal shockingly defeated Randy Orton to become WWE champion.

Over just a few months, the two have risen to the top of SmackDown, becoming the representatives of the future of the brand. Their feud could well rage for the rest of the year if WWE plays its cards right, but right now, it looks as though a different direction is planned for both WWE Superstars.

After Nakamura defeated Cena clean in the main event of SmackDown Live, it became hard to imagine that Mahal would be walking out of SummerSlam as WWE champion. It was a crowning moment for The King of Strong Style that signified he was being pushed to the top of the card. However, crowning him champion so quickly would be a major mistake by WWE.

While Nakamura lit up NXT as its star attraction, he has not been quite as dynamic on the main roster. His pay-per-view bouts against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin were underwhelming, with Nakamura also consistently struggling to cut promos worthy of main event status. Only his presence and charisma have allowed him to stand out.

Everyone knows Nakamura is great because WWE has told us of his greatness. Those who followed his career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling have seen him put on countless showstealers alongside the best in Japan, including Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi, as well as one of WWE's best performers AJ Styles.

Perhaps because he debuted late in his career or because he is still finding his way in WWE, Nakamura has not lived up to the legacy he has been credited with yet. He has not come off as the Japanese icon that will rewrite the record books for Asian wrestlers in WWE and has failed to prove himself worthy of being SmackDown's top champion.

Meanwhile, The Modern Day Maharaja is on a path of reinvention as champion. The 31-year-old WWE veteran has changed his image dramatically to become a star quickly. He now comes off as a man made to be champion. While he has a ways to go as a performer, he is clearly improving with each appearance.

Taking the championship off Mahal now could ruin him. By SummerSlam, he will have held the championship for just under three months. As he has spent most of that time feuding with just one wrestler in Randy Orton, he is not ready to fall back down to earth.

His surprise run at the top of the card has often been compared to the crowning of John Bradshaw Layfield in 2014, a veteran making a radical change in character and suddenly becoming a main eventer. What made JBL's change so effective was that he held the WWE Championship for 280 days, the longest championship reign in the past decade.

After that run, JBL never had to win the title again to remain a championship contender the rest of his career. If Mahal loses the title after a mere 92 days, it will leave questions of his legitimacy, with the possibility he doesn't get another title reign for years. Now is the only time Mahal can solidify his status.

Credit: WWE.com

Nakamura certainly is the far more talented of the two wrestlers, but it is The Maharaja's time to shine. The Artist will get his time on top of WWE sooner rather than later, but he should be given more time to acclimate to the main roster and put on matches that demand people's attention first.

If Nakamura wins at SummerSlam, he will likely derail Mahal's push as well as step into the spotlight too soon. This is not even mentioning the possibility that Baron Corbin could cash-in on Nakamura after a victory, making Nakamura the latest babyface to start his main event run with a 10-minute-or-less title reign.

It is the story that makes the most sense given the feud between Corbin and Nakamura as well as WWE's insistence on heel champions. However, this would give both Mahal and Nakamura weak title reigns, leaving them both scrambling to rewrite their legacies with another championship victory rather than allowing them each to define themselves by their first title reign.

At SummerSlam, the direction of SmackDown could radically change with either Nakamura or Corbin emerging as WWE champion. However, either man taking the title from Mahal this early would be a mistake, as The Maharaja must be allowed more time to prove his worth while Nakamura could use a few more months of buildup before taking over the main event scene.