WWE Doing AJ Styles Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Was For The Fans, Says Road Dogg

AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura battled for Styles' WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34. The match had much hype surrounding it due to their iconic NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 match just over two years prior. On a recent episode of "Oh...You Didn't Know," WWE Hall of Famer Brian "Road Dogg" James addressed why they booked the match between Styles and Nakamura in the first place and his thoughts on the actual contest.

"We felt like we were listening to the international wrestling community," James said. "A lot of people think differently about that match than I did. Like, I thought it was a good match. But, I think I've seen matches from theirs in Japan where it was just a different crowd and a different reaction to things, and I've seen them have better matches in Japan ... It was all about giving the IWC, you know, that's just the truth of it, it was about giving them what they wanted and it was also good business." 

Styles wound up walking out of the match victorious, with Nakamura turning heel afterward by delivering the first of many low blows he would give to opponents over the next couple of months. With hindsight being 20/20, James would seemingly do the same storyline all over again. He revealed why he would not have personally switched the match to Nakamura versus John Cena knowing what he knows now. "I don't think we went wrong with AJ Styles."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Oh...You Didn't Know" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.