Shinsuke Nakamura Suffers Leg Injury; Pulled From Tonight’s SmackDown

Shinsuke Nakamura is reported to have suffered an undisclosed injury, according to WWE.

WWE announced on their website that due to this recent injury, Nakamura will not be able to compete in his scheduled United States Championship match against champion Jeff Hardy on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.

While details regarding the injury are currently sparse, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Nakamura competed in Sunday’s SmackDown branded house show in Fresno, California but was absent from last night’s house show in Bakersfield, California. Meltzer also reported that Nakamura was bitten in the leg by a police dog at last night’s event at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.

It is currently not known if Nakamura’s injury will affect his status for WWE’s tour of Japan this weekend.

Official WWE announcement:

Shinsuke Nakamura has suffered an injury and is unable to compete against Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship tonight on SmackDown LIVE. However, The Charismatic Enigma is not taking the night off, and has issued an open challenge for his title. Who will step up and answer the call to action? Find out tonight on SmackDown LIVE at 8/7 C on USA!

EXCLUSIVE: Unfortunately, @ShinsukeN sustained an injury last night and is not medically cleared to compete. However, #USChampion @JEFFHARDYBRAND will issue a #USOpenChallenge TONIGHT on #SDLive! pic.twitter.com/1wefUTFRRM

— WWE (@WWE) June 26, 2018