Shinsuke Nakamura is a living legend in the pro-wrestling world of Japan. WWE fans might not be aware of this name much until he joined the NXT roster in 2015. But he took over the developmental territory since the day he stepped his foot here. Currently, he is one of the top names on the Smackdown roster.
But there are no doubts that it was NJPW promotion who gave him the early fame by his name. Shinsuke Nakamura is a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a record-setting five-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and the IWGP tag team champion. Apart from these he also won the 2011 G1 Climax, 2006 G1 Tag League, and 2014 New Japan Cup tournaments.
A legend like him had to start from the scratch all over around after coming to the WWE. He might have been the mainstay player on the NXT roster but no such special treatments were there on Smackdown roster. So what could have been the exact reason that he left the comfortable zone of Japan and joined the WWE?
Nakamura gave an answer to this question during an interview with Lilian Garcia at the Ace Comic Con Festival. The host praised his achievements in the WWE, so far. Furthermore, she asked whether WWE has always been a goal for him. The Artist came up with a straight ‘NO’.
The only reason behind this switch was to gather far more experience. He did not have anything new to earn in the NJPW promotion. This is why he wanted to explore things in the biggest pro-wrestling promotion in the world. Check out his comments from the interview,
“In Japan, I thought I accomplished everything. So, I tried other things. In 2015, I thought what should I do next? At the time, my friend, who works in WWE, called me. Probably it’s time for the next challenge. Then I decided to join WWE.
So, I didn’t follow the WWE history, but I knew big names like Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan because they wrestled in Japan. When I was a kid, It was hard to watch WWE, because I needed to go to the video shop, but I didn’t have any money.”
The former contender of the WWE Championship alluded that he loved the surprising element of his new employer. He received a lot of freedom while competing in NJPW. Wrestling used to much rough back in the east. WWE-kind of wrestling is very much simple in comparison to that.
The feud against AJ Styles was a special mention in this interview. Shinsuke Nakamura asserted that they both were nervous before their first match at Wrestlemania 34. They delivered a phenomenal match but the quality of wrestling progressed as the feud continued longer. He wished to have more matches with the ‘face that runs the place’ in the near future.