Stipulation Revealed for AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at Money In The Bank

WWE Champion AJ Styles and challenger Shinsuke Nakamura will do battle once again next month at Money in the Bank in Chicago. And now, we know what kind of match it’s going to be.

The duo began their series of matches back at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. That match saw Styles retain clean with a Nakamura heel turn immediately following the match. Then just a couple of months later, they once again battled for the title, this time at Greatest Royal Rumble. That match ended in a double count-out. Due to the controversy, a match was scheduled for WWE Backlash, where Styles again retained the title via a draw.

Their fourth high profile match in the last two months happened last week on SmackDown, though that match was not for the title. Instead, the winner would get to decide the stipulation for their match at Money in the Bank. For the first time since the series began at WrestleMania, Nakamura was victorious.

On SmackDown Tuesday night, a segment was held in the middle of the ring to open the second hour of the show with Renee Young interviewing both men. Nakamura promised to unveil the stipulation for the match during the segment, and WWE pushed the fact that this would happen throughout the first hour of the broadcast.

Young didn’t last long as things got heated very quickly. Styles demanded to know the stipulation immediately, but Nakamura used the first several minutes of the segment to gloat over his victory last week and proclaim that Style’s house is now his house, as his title will now be.

Styles demanded to know again, and this time, Nakamura announced it would be a…pillow fight. He cracked up laughing as some in the crowd started chanting “Yes!” Styles then called him the “King of Soft Style.” Yeah, this was pretty bad comedy.

Nakamura then talked about how when he sees Styles, all he wants to do is “knee to face.” Styles noted Nakamura can’t beat him when it matters, leading him to his cheap shots. Styles said “you’re not the Shinsuke Nakamura we wanted on SmackDown Live.”

Styles said he can pick whatever stipulation he wants, but it still won’t put them on an evening playing field. He finally said he’s fine finding out the stipulation at Money in the Bank and attempted to walk off, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

The men then brawled all over ringside and into the crowd. Styles went for a flying forearmoff the ringside barrier, but Nakamura took him out with a chair shot. At this point, Nakamura brutalized Styles, culminating with a Kinshasa right in front of the announcers as Graves noted “Nakamura may have AJ Styles’ number.”

Nakamura then lead the crowd in a ten count as Styles laid on the floor below. He got on the microphone and proclaimed that they would be having a Last Man Standing Match at Money in the Bank.