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...'
