WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a Double Count-out

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — Though he didn’t leave the sold-out King Abdullah Sports City Stadium victorious, WWE Champion AJ Styles left Saudi Arabia having given Shinsuke Nakamura a taste of his own medicine at the Greatest Royal Rumble event. The match ended in a Double Count-out, but Styles punished WWE’s Rockstar, capping off a vicious onslaught with a Phenomenal Forearm to the stadium floor.

In a rematch of their WrestleMania dream bout, the champion was fired up; besides having suffered a series of low blows in recent weeks at the hands of The Artist, he was forced to watch his good friend Karl Anderson take a Kinshasa from Nakamura last Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE. The challenger took advantage of that, using Styles’ fury against him, pummeling the champion with precise strikes while attacking his knee, taunting Styles along the way.

The WWE Champion would not be kept down, though, and he fought through Nakamura’s offense as the Jeddah faithful rallied behind him. He evaded a Kinshasa knee strike and trapped WWE’s Rockstar in the Calf Crusher, though Nakamura would escape. The bout soon devolved into a slugfest – Styles threw wild punches, and Nakamura answered with a flurry of fists and kicks before taking Styles to the mat in an armbar.

Styles escaped and had Nakamura in position for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Nakamura dove out of the way, forcing the champion to pull up short before he clobbered the referee. That gave The Artist the opportunity to hit Styles with another savage low blow. That move nearly earned Nakamura the WWE Championship, but Styles was able to grab the bottom rope to break up the pin attempt.

An incensed Styles unleashed his fury on Nakamura, staying on his challenger as the fight spilled to the outside. The two Superstars brawled over the Saudi Arabian announcers’ table, with Styles raining down fists on his opponent. Unfortunately, Styles was so consumed with rage that he didn’t hear the referee’s count, which reached 10 with both competitors still outside the ring.

Though the bell rang as the referee declared a Double Count-out, Styles did not relent, grabbing a steel chair and driving it into Nakamura’s back. The WWE Champion tried to take Nakamura back into the ring, only for The Artist to roll out on the other side. The Phenomenal One didn’t let Nakamura leave Saudi Arabia without one last parting moment – a Phenomenal Forearm over the ropes and onto the arena floor.

Though fans may have been expecting a dream match between two friends at the start of this rivalry, the bad blood that has developed between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura has ensured that the WWE Universe is getting something much more personal and much more visceral.