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“I won’t say goodbye… Just thank you”.
Those were the last words uttered by Shinsuke Nakamura in a New Japan ring on January 30th, 2016, after an emotional farewell in Korakuen Hall. He was given an incredible send-off by his peers and fans as he shared the ring with his greatest rivals and CHAOS team mates for what could be the last ever time. Nakamura departs for WWE after creating a legendary career in his 14 years with NJPW. In that time he became a three time IWGP Heavyweight champion, being the youngest ever champion at age 23. A five time IWGP Intercontinental champion and a one time winner each of the G1 Climax and New Japan Cup.
Over the last few years The King of Strong Style’s popularity has skyrocketed due to his incredible charisma, superstar aura and ability to tell a story in the ring. Nakamura, along with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada have been the top three in NJPW and were looked at as being untouchable. It was unthinkable that the company would ever be without any of them and when rumours first circulated about Nakamura leaving months ago, I laughed it off, thinking it was impossible. It looked as though it was just a matter of time until Nakamura won the G1 Climax again and won back the IWGP title for the first time in almost 7 years. As much as people have wanted to see Nakamura win the IWGP heavyweight title in recent years, he has transcended it in a way and made the IWGP Intercontinental championship his own and a prize every bit as important.
Since first winning the title in 2012, Nakamura has rarely been without it. He took the IC title to the main event of Wrestle Kingdom and has main evented many major shows with it, having many incredible championship matches along the way, giving the championship a legacy that will be carried with it for many years to come.
The effortlessly cool Nakamura has created a ring style unlike anyone else. Blending his vicious Boma Ye knee strikes, with lots of MMA influenced strikes and submissions, along with his quirky charisma, and ability to make others look good, into something truly unique to him. He has been responsible for some of the finest matches in NJPW.
If you are unfamiliar with Nakamura and are only becoming aware of him now, some of his matches that you need to see, to get a grasp of his greatness in Japan are his matches with Kota Ibushi (G1 2013 & Wrestle Kingdom 2015), Hiroshi Tanahashi (Invasion Attack 2014, G1 Final 2015), Kazuchika Okada (G1 Final 2014, G1 2015) and Hirooki Goto (Dominion 2015, Destruction 2015). As incredible as these matches were, to me his matches with Bad Luck Fale in 2014 prove how truly great Nakamura is. He took the giant Fale, and not only brought Fale to the best matches of his career, but some of the best matches of the year. Nakamura is truly an elite performer and not only one of the best in Japan, but the world.
Nakamura’s popularity overseas was likely a major factor in his decision to depart NJPW. Over the last couple of years, Nakamura has been by far the most popular Japanese star when Ring of Honor bring over the stars of New Japan. Nakamura is also hugely popular in the UK whenever he wrestles for Rev Pro. In a lot of ways Nakamura was more popular in ROH than he was in NJPW. No one on those tours got the reaction that Nakamura did and no one's appearance was anticipated as much as his was. This speaks volumes of his charisma, star power and ability to connect with the US audience in a way that no Japanese star has since Jushin Thunder Liger. His popularity has been a major factor in the growth of NJPW over the last few years, particularly it’s growth and increased awareness in foreign markets. Nakamura always seems to be the guy that foreign fans are drawn to.
Nakamura made the decision to leave NJPW and try his luck in WWE. Nakamura believes it was the right time to leave NJPW as he has played his part in bringing the company into a stable position and believes that they can do just as well without him. Nakamura is a creative and driven individual. He could have sat as a top star in NJPW for the rest of his career, but he decided to risk it all in an attempt to better himself and spread the name of Japanese wrestling.
In a lot of ways Nakamura is entering untested waters. He is the biggest Japanese star to come to America since The Great Muta, and even Muta didn’t come full time. Nakamura is the first major Japanese main event level superstar to take himself full time to WWE. It’s difficult to compare him to Tajiri, TAKA Michinoku or even more recent stars like Hideo Itami or Asuka. Nakamura is on a different level of popularity and seeing him portrayed as anything but, will be very strange.
Nakamura will likely make his first appearance for WWE in NXT at their Takeover event in Dallas during Wrestlemania weekend and there is a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding it. His match there with Sami Zayn should be off the charts. After Takeover we don’t know what will happen. Nakamura in NXT has the potential for a lot of dream match scenarios and great things, but what happens when he gets to the main roster?
It would be foolish to expect Nakamura to be presented as the main event level star that he was in NJPW. Just this past week we seen AJ Styles, a 38 year old veteran, with an incredible track record in America referred to as a “redneck rookie” that “couldn’t make it”. This isn’t the sort of way one of the finest wrestlers in the world should be presented, but we have come to expect it from WWE.
Vince McMahon’s knowledge of Shinsuke Nakamura is probably minimal at best and he will see a slim, 35 year old, that makes silly faces and doesn’t speak fluent English. Having seen Nakamura protected as a top star and rarely take a pinfall in NJPW, expectations are unrealistically high for Nakamura in WWE. Sure, it would be incredible to see Nakamura vs Brock Lesnar at a Wrestlemania, Nakamura vs Seth Rollins in a major match or Nakamura vs Daniel Bryan, and that could all happen, but he could just as easily be dancing with R-Truth or goofing around with Stardust. Nakamura has proven that he has the talent and charisma to connect with an audience in this part of the world, albeit a hardcore wrestling audience that know who he is, but he has that ability, so it’s all up to WWE to give him the platform and opportunity to see if he can do it on the largest stage of them all. It would be foolish for them not to.
What Nakamura has done in the past is just that. The past. His run in NJPW will be remembered fondly and will be celebrated for years to come, but he is set for a new beginning. We don’t know what changes may come with this, we could see a very different Nakamura under a different name. His past doesn’t matter to WWE and they will do what they please with him.
The future for Shinsuke Nakamura may be very uncertain, but he departed NJPW in the best way possible. After playing a huge part in bringing NJPW to heights of popularity they haven’t seen in years, he got to finish his run with a classic match against AJ Styles in the Tokyo Dome and an amazing send-off that brought Korakuen Hall to tears. Nakamura will forever be synonymous with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the door will always be open, but for now Nakamura embarks on a journey to transcend barriers and create a legacy that no other Japanese star has done before.
Good luck Shinsuke....and Hello.
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