Shinsuke Nakamura - wrestler, entertainer, showman.... everything the WWE needs...

The online wrestling world has been buzzing lately. What is all the hype about?

AJ Styles. Shinsuke Nakamura. Doc Gallows. Karl Anderson.

These names from New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) have been mentioned as *possible* future WWE signings by the wrestling media. Nothing has been officially confirmed. WWE.com decided to jump on the hype, uncharacteristically acknowledging a rival promotion. Wait, NJPW is competition? Well with the WWE Network launching in Japan, yes they are competition.

Of the stars that are potentially on their way to WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura is the most interesting one. Why Nakamura? A quick history lesson. In 2004, I recall watching a TV channel here in the UK called 'The Wrestling Channel'. The channel holds a special place in my wrestling memory. It gave us NOAH, NJPW, GAEA, ROH and many other promotions. As a fan of international wrestling, you would usually have to search online for DVDs that you could purchase. YouTube hadn't taken off yet.

One evening, when browsing the channel, I settled on a New Japan show. I saw a rookie by the name of Shinsuke Nakamura. A very competent wrestler, portraying excellent technique, but otherwise generally unremarkable.

The Wrestling Channel soon shut down. Over the years, I would continue reading about Nakamura online. However, I didn't bother to seek out any of his matches.

Fast-forward to 2015. More specifically January 2015. People were raving about a NJPW show. Incredible action. Great drama. Five star performances. Their version of WrestleMania. I was intrigued. I checked it out. Wrestle Kingdom 9. Oh look. It's Shinsuke Nakamura. Yet, he looks different? As I watched Nakamura's entrance to the ring, I was in awe. He had re-branded himself. The rookie from 2004 had changed. The new and improved Nakamura was dubbed the 'King of Strongstyle'. His mannerisms and movements appeared to be eccentric. There was charisma and lots of it. Even before he stepped into the ring, I was sold on Nakamura. The 'X factor' or the 'IT factor'. That special something which makes a wrestler marketable. Nakamura had it in spades.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom 9. One of the best matches I have ever seen. Once the match had started, Nakamura showed everyone why he is known as one of the best wrestlers on the planet. He has quite the repertoire of submissions and strikes. His finisher, the Boma-Ye knee strike, is incredibly effective. Similar to Randy Orton's RKO, he can hit it from anywhere and at any time. I don't want to take anything away from Kota Ibushi. He is an incredible talent. They wrestled what I would define as a near perfect match.

So if Nakamura comes to the WWE after his contract expires with NJPW, why should we care?

1) We need someone, anyone, anything... to make the three hour Raw broadcasts easier to watch. Nakamura would be an injection of much needed energy.

2) Nakamura is one of the best wrestlers on the planet - I touched on this above. He will have entertaining matches with WWE's roster. Whether he needs time to adjust to the 'WWE style' (like Hideo Itami) remains to be seen...

3) Nakamura presents himself in a very unique manner. Have a look at his Wrestle Kingdom 9 entrance. How can WWE not have an interest in promoting such as star?

4) With WWE launching their network in Japan, a popular star like Nakamura would possibly help to drive subscriptions. Does that mean WWE will treat Nakamura with respect and avoid the stereotypical gimmicks we have seen in years past?

I am curious as to how HHH would book Nakamura in NXT. You could then compare this to Vince McMahon booking him on the main roster. I would imagine that WWE would have to offer Nakamura a competitive salary to get him away from NJPW - in which case, a main roster debut seems more likely.

Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and anyone else WWE is trying to acquire from NJPW should shake things up - if they are booked well. It's all about the booking!

To quote Fin Balor, 'they should have been here by now...'

They should have been here by now....

A photo posted by Finn Bálor (@wwebalor) on Jan 6, 2016 at 6:26am PST

Bray Wyatt - the next Austin? Punk? Cena? No. The next Bray Wyatt.

Bray Wyatt. An incredibly charismatic performer. A man who knows how to entertain on the mic, and he certainly is not too bad in the ring either.

Since watching his two promo videos on Raw, I went looking for some of his NXT material. Watching him come to the ring cutting promos made me think: in one year, this man will be your world champion. He will also be one of the most over guys on the WWE roster - in my opinion.

This is a superstar in the making. Just listen to this promo. It reminds me of Mick Foley, Raven and others - all masterful on the mic.

Ah but wait... he has to negotiate the road through WWE Creative.

Oh dear.

Wyatt Family - Fantastic debut promo

I have watched this several times since it aired on Raw. An incredible promo, a true credit to the WWE production team. Also, a testament to the talent of the Wyatt Family.

This appears to be something a little more mature than what we are accustomed to in the PG era.

I can't wait.

Brock Lesnar vs CM Punk? Will WWE rush it?

So, there are rumours over who CM Punk will feud with when he returns to the WWE. Brock Lesnar's name has come up as a logical choice. After all, Lesnar and Punk are both connected through Paul Heyman. It is interesting to note that neither Punk or Lesnar have appeared on-screen together. You would think that WWE would have seen Dollar signs in promoting such a pairing. Remember the 'two man power trip' from 2001? Steve Austin and HHH were built up as an unstoppable pairing, taking over and ruling the WWE. They were unseated by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, through a classic tag match on WWE Raw, which saw Jericho and Benoit win the tag titles.

So why have Punk and Lesnar not been seen together? Did WWE want to keep them apart with the intention of having them feud later? Were they kept apart because both wrestlers had such different characters and philosophies? Lesnar, the part-time main-event fighter going after the big dollar fights. CM Punk, striving day in and day out to be the best in the industry. Punk was on every show, celebrating his lengthy title reign. Lesnar appeared sporadically, feuding with John Cena and then HHH. Lesnar's appearances were designed to shock and awe - drawing the biggest box office dollars.

If WWE decides to pit Punk against Lesnar, I am happy with that. However, as always, it is the process that matters the most. Am I confident in WWE's ability to book this feud successfully? No. What would I want to see? Firstly, this feud should not be rushed. In an era where the immediate concern is how to fill three hours of WWE Raw programming on Monday nights, I am sure WWE will rush this feud through.

In my ideal world, we go through the following stages:

1) Punk returns - confidence returned. Attacks a popular WWE face - e.g. HHH. He realigns himself with Paul Heyman.

2) We build up to SummerSlam with Punk and Lesnar as a team. They are billed as unstoppable. In the main-event, they destroy HHH and another face - e.g. John Cena. HHH's concussion story can play a part in the outcome.

3) We lead to Survivor Series - team HHH vs team Heyman. Punk plays a part in accidentally costing his team the match. Heyman and Punk start to have issues - yet still stay together. However, the tension is evident.

4) Come the Royal Rumble, Lesnar wins the world title from Cena (presuming he has not lost it to Ryback). Punk wins the Rumble.

5) The next night on Raw, Heyman turns on Punk - believing Lesnar to be his one true meal ticket. Lesnar attacks Punk.

6) We build to Mania - with an incredible series of microphone showdowns between Punk and Heyman.

7) At Mania, Punk beats Lesnar and wins the title in the main-event.

The above is unlikely to happen for two reasons:

a) WWE will likely hotshot this feud and make it happen instantly to fill immediate storyline needs presented by the damning three hour Raw schedule.

b) WWE would not be able to afford to have Lesnar appear so many time in a one year span to build this feud for Wrestlemania. His contract has limited dates after all.

Regardless, there is one thing I hope for here. WWE can't afford to turn Lesnar face. He does his best work as a heel.

But then again... so does CM Punk...

So perhaps, Punk vs Lesnar is not ideal after-all.