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Adam Hunger / Associated Press
Shinsuke Nakamura will be unable to fight Jeff Hardy for the US Championship on SmackDown Live Tuesday night.
The WWE announced that Nakamura had been injured during a live event Monday. As a result, Hardy will launch an open title challenge with Nakamura unavailable:
WWE @WWE
EXCLUSIVE: Unfortunately, @ShinsukeN suffered an injury last night and is not medically allowed to compete. However, #USChampion @JEFFHARDYBRAND will issue a #USOpenChallenge TONIGHT on #SDLive! https://t.co/1wefUTFRRM
according to Dave Meltzer Nakamura was bitten in the leg by a police dog at the Bakersfield Arena on Monday.
An injury is the last thing Nakamura needs after his disappointing rivalry with AJ Styles.
On paper, a long-term rivalry between Nakamura and Styles should have been great. Instead, all the momentum behind the story fizzled out after WrestleMania, and what was a very good match at Money in the Bank was too little too late.
Most importantly, Nakamura had four shots to win the WWE Styles Championship and lost or stalled. Even for a star as big as Nakamura, falling flat in four high-level games can only mark the perception of his status as a serious contender for the title.
Maybe Tuesday's announcement is just part of Nakamura's story with Hardy, and he'll be perfectly healthy on SmackDown Live to attack the US champion.
While this helps boost Nakamura's skills in the stub, a high school pursuit is unlikely to bring the former NXT champion back to WrestleMania.
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