Randy Orton vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Rumors, Preview for WWE SmackDown Sept. 5

On WWE SmackDown, 2017 will continue to be the year of first-time-ever matchups when Randy Orton takes on Shinsuke Nakamura.

We've seen Nakamura take on John Cena and Samoa Joe collide with Brock Lesnar, and soon Cena will face Roman Reigns in their first singles bout against each other. SmackDown will continue that pattern of fresh matches in a WWE Championship No. 1 Contender's bout.

The eccentric and electric Nakamura will look to earn another crack at Jinder Mahal and the WWE title by outlasting the veteran Orton.

Tuesday's SmackDown will also feature the women's champ in action, a potential transformation for Dolph Ziggler and more displays of Kevin Owens' rage. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will host it all.

What personnel changes are on tap for the blue brand? What bouts are lined up for the show? Backstage news, social media updates and the SmackDown preview on WWE.com help answer those questions.

Read on for a full preview of the latest SmackDown before it airs on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network.

News, Rumors

John "Bradshaw" Layfield has left the commentary booth to focus on his charity work. Raw announcer Corey Graves will replace him.

The WWE announced the switch on Monday:

In addition to JBL, the blue brand may be minus Rusev and Lana. The Bulgarian Brute and The Ravishing Russian were recently in Bulgaria to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Before the trip, Rusev tweeted: "Ok I'm coming home...goodbye America." Lana has since been busy posting pics of their trip on Instagram.

Neither Lana nor Rusev appeared at the SmackDown house show in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Monday, per Wrestling Inc.

After losing his Money in the Bank cash-in match and failing to last long against John Cena at SummerSlam, speculation about Baron Corbin being in the doghouse has been rampant. 

On PWInsider.com, Mike Johnson detailed a situation where Corbin had a disagreement with Dr. Joseph Maroon. Some reportedly viewed Corbin as being out of line here. "The belief among those we spoke with is that if anything led to the company pulling back on Corbin's push, that was it," Johnson wrote.

But The Lone Wolf isn't going to be relegated to jobber status anytime soon.

Corbin has still been spotlighted on the show of late. Johnson wrote: "There does not appear to be any obvious long-lasting damage due to the Maroon incident, as Corbin remains in a featured position on the SmackDown brand."

SmackDown Streaks

The Usos remain a dominant force.

Jimmy and Jey Uso continued their winning ways last week when they knocked off The New Day in non-title action. Their latest win gave them the right to pick the stipulation in the next SmackDown Tag Team Championship clash between those squads. The champs have won five in a row on SmackDown, per CageMatch.net. 

If only SmackDown's lower-tier teams could get a fraction of the momentum The Usos have collected.

Mike Kanellis hasn't experienced much in the way of momentum since signing with the WWE. He's been a non-factor for the brand to this point.

Kanellis lost to Bobby Roode last Tuesday, extending what is now a three-match losing streak, per CageMatch.net.

There doesn't seem to be a clear plan for Kanellis right now. A poor win-loss record is one thing, but he doesn't have any direction and is not part of any story at the moment.

Preview

The SmackDown women's champ will face off with Ms. Money in the Bank as Natalya and Carmella clash in South Dakota.

Carmella has teased cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on Natalya before. The titleholder, though, has yet to be vulnerable enough for Carmella to decide to pounce. That could change on Tuesday should The Princess of Staten Island come up with a crafty plan.

Credit: WWE.com

Natalya will have to be wary of being blindsided before the bell, Carmella's crony James Ellsworth interfering and anything else Carmella may cook up.

Owens, meanwhile, won't be looking to sneak up on his rival. KO is set to charge at Shane McMahon.

After feeling cheated in two United States Championship matches by the SmackDown commissioner's officiating, Owens is clearly on a collision course with his boss. A feud is brewing between the two.

And the WWE.com SmackDown preview teased more interactions between the two when it asked: "Will Kevin Owens continue to antagonize Shane McMahon?"

Ziggler may be in line for a character change. For the past two weeks, he has talked of revealing what will make him a star, saying he's willing to do anything to get noticed at this point.

The Showoff could soon embrace a dancing gimmick or lean on bells and whistles to get noticed.

Tuesday's main event will pit Mahal's two most recent pay-per-view opponents—Nakamura and Orton—against each other. The winner will earn the right to face The Maharaja for the WWE Championship.

Last week, Nakamura and The Viper were on the same team. But Orton made sure after the bout that The King of Strong Style knew the power of his RKO. Orton nailed him with his finishing move in a possible preview of what's to come on Tuesday night.

Nakamura is the clear favorite, as we've already had three Orton vs. Mahal PPV matches, but nothing is certain in the strange world of SmackDown where Mahal shot up the company ladder in the year's most surprising story.