With WWE Champion AJ Styles watching on at ringside, The King of Strong Style and Bulgarian Brute faced off in an ultra-physical confrontation with stiff strikes a plenty. Rusev kept Shinsuke Nakamura grounded for most of the contest, but Nakamura caught The Super Athlete with an elaborate rollup following a thrilling sequence for the victory.

After the bell, English immediately pounced on WWE’s Rockstar, and the staggered Rusev soon joined in on the beating. The Phenomenal One looked ready to come to Nakamura’s aid (albeit slowly), but by the time Styles was finally “ready” to assist, Nakamura had already turned the tide with a flurry of kicks and cleared the ring of Rusev Day.

The mutual respect between Styles and Nakamura doesn’t necessarily seem to equate to the lending of a helping hand on The Road to WrestleMania.