These two make a pretty good team…@ShinsukeN @AJStylesOrg #SDLive pic.twitter.com/GOt7WRAOLr
— WWE (@WWE) May 24, 2017
Four of the men who will participate in June’s Money In The Bank ladder match faced off in a tag team match on SmackDown to get the early phsycological advantage heading into the pay per view.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura paired up as a dream team that many thought they’d never see in a WWE ring to face common foes, Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler.
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All four SmackDown stars had a chance to shine in the match, but it was Nakamura who caught the hot tag from Styles late in the match to deliver some of his signature strong style offense to Kevin Owens before connecting with his vicious Kinshasa finisher on both Owens and Ziggler to pick up the victory.
Styles and Nakamura shared mutual admiration after the bout and gave a nod to their legendary past in New Japan when they bumped fists in a nearly “too sweet” exchange.
KINSHASA!!!!! @ShinsukeN is VICTORIOUS in his #SDLive in-ring debut! @AJStylesOrg! @HEELZiggler @FightOwensFight #SDLive pic.twitter.com/HGVG7kmGew
— WWE (@WWE) May 24, 2017
SmackDown Live kicked off with commissioner, Shane McMahon, announcing the five participants for this year’s Money In The Bank match.
AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura will all be competing for the chance at a guaranteed WWE Championship bout.
Dolph Ziggler and Sami Zayn will be the only participants in the match with any Money In The Bank experience. Ziggler won the 2012 MitB match and would cash in his briefcase to become World Champion the night after WrestleMania. Zayn participated in last year’s event, which was won by Dean Ambrose.
