Shinsuke Nakamura Beats Rusev, Wins US Title at WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show

Shinsuke Nakamura beat Rusev at the Royal Rumble Kickoff show on Sunday to become a two-time United States champion.

Lana indirectly cost Rusev the title. She was standing on the apron and engaged in an argument with Nakamura when Rusev ran toward the challenger. Nakamura moved out of the way, and Rusev knocked Lana to the floor as a result.

Rusev stopped to check on the status of his wife, which allowed Nakamura to deliver the Kinshasa for the win.

Sunday marked the continuation of a long-running feud between the two men with the U.S. title hanging in the balance.

The first title match between Rusev and The King of Strong Style took place on SmackDown Live in September with the latter retaining, but that was only the beginning of their rivalry.

Rusev got another crack at the title on the Crown Jewel Kickoff Show, but Nakamura hit The Bulgarian Brute with a low blow en route to another victory.

After a brief cooling-off period, Rusev found himself back in the United States Championship scene when he and Jeff Hardy beat Nakamura and Samoa Joe in a tag team match.

Rusev was granted another title match for the Christmas edition of SmackDown Live, and that is when he finally broke through.

The Super Athlete beat Nakamura to become the United States champion, marking the third time he has held the title during his WWE career.

Losing the championship only made The King of Strong Style more antagonistic, as he attacked Rusev on multiple occasions and even mocked him for the way he is portrayed on Total Divas.

Although the rematch between Rusev and Nakamura wasn't promoted a ton leading up to the Rumble because of the fact that the card was already stacked with big-time matches, the Superstars still did enough to drum up some interest in their clash.

There wasn't much pressure on them to put on a classic given the matches they were forced to compete with, but they managed to put together an entertaining bout that got the crowd involved.

While both Rusev and Nakamura are top-end talents, it is difficult to see where they will fit into WrestleMania 35 plans considering the fact that the U.S. title has been an afterthought in recent months.

Since neither Superstar appears likely to move into the main event scene anytime soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see them continue their feud in the coming months.

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