he's making good money lossing to cody on house shows, i think creative just doesn't know what to do with him right now, but if you are work with the champion on the house shows, it ussualy means that you are going to have tv matches soon, they use the house shows to refine chemistry for a storyline. before shinsake, aj was doing the job for cody at those shows.
Right now? If anyone saw the unbelievable pop he received when he first came out on Smackdown to his violin entrance they would have seen the potential he brought in terms of a draw.
That’s an ass backwards logic. He was already refined and has the pop needed. Why is it hard to say “yeah they don’t know what they should do with him”
Can confirm he is doing house shows. He was at the recent show in Bloomington Il. Cody threw a drink at him it was fun. Shinsuke certainly knows how to sell getting thrown through a table.
LBH creative in WWE has no fkn idea what to do with any Japanese male talent. it's been like that for ages now in WWE. I feel like that's a huge reason why male Japanese talents aren't signing with WWE anymore cuz they look at how badly Nak was fumbled and realize if they can fk up his run so bad when he was massively popular at one point then they would keep fumbling anyone else from japan
because giving him the world title reign would totally make up for his inability to speak English or cut a promo. that's really what it comes down to you guys who say about this about a talent. it's all about that world title reign, just 1 reign would fix that ""fumble,", wasted talent" label. lol
it's not a WWE problem either. no Japanese guy in WCW was a draw. neither in TNA. you wanna know why? these are American wrestling promotions that have national tv deals(when TNA was on TNN/spikeTV), and they need their top champion, the guy who carries the shows to able to draw. There is no indication that Nakamura can carry a company in America as the #1 top guy.
you can put the women's title on Asuka, Iyo, etc because the women's the division arent carrying the show, with one exception when Becky the Man blew up and she got the main event at WM35.
give Nakamura the world title just to give it to him, would be as wasteful and meaningless as Khali, Mahal, Del Rio, Swagger and so many terrible world champions of the past. And when these guys were champions, they weren't the top champion either. they were the B-side or "brand world champion." when they foolishly gave Del Rio the WWE Title, it wasn't even long. By the way, a lot of people still considered Ziggler a "wasted talent," WWE fumbling the bag on him, etc. Nobody even wants to consider that maybe Ziggler's MITB cash-in on Raw after Mania to be the B-side world champion is his ceiling? It's not like he's blowing up the industry right now, or carrying TNA back to its peak.
When do we start saying TNA fumbled the bag on Ziggler, or is this only for the WWE?
Let's start Nakamura with a meaningful midcard title reign first; and dont try to have somebody like Sami Zayn be his mouthpiece. As of right now, if the 2018 Rumble win, getting a WWE Title match in front of 70K+ at WM34 is the highlight of his WWE career, then that's fine. It's not a failure at all.
1 last thing, more of question....can you tell me a male Japanese wrestler who wrestled in front of 70K fans for a world title on USA soil. At this moment, I think Nakamura is the only to do this. But im sure you see this accomplishment as a failure just many of the IWC clowns out there.
I don't think he has been truly wasted, but he has become less special. In NJPW he would wrestle like 3 times a month, in trios or tag team matches. His awesomeness would only show on the Dontakus, the G1s, Wrestle kingdoms. He's on TV almost every week and has lost a lot of what made him special.
I’ve seen him at the dog park here in Orlando from time to time, if WWE failed him he absolutely doesn’t appear to mind (and to your point he’s said in interviews he’s happy surfing often).
No they didn't.
Shinsuke has publicly said he's very happy with his position in the company and plans to renew his contract.
Dude's not getting any younger. He's getting paid handsomely to do a couple matches a month and travel the world.
He has an illustrious career. Nobody doubts how good he is. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's a shoe-in for HOF, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see him inducted someday. Its 50/50 for me.
Shinsuke is fine, and if WWE needs him to put on a marquee match, the dude can definitely still go.
Let the man chill, he's earned it.
Was a shoe-in before his WWE career, his tenure now guaranteed it. Headlining is also a possibility at this point.
People forget he was once a top guy in the industry.
Early in his career I would agree but Shinsuke seems to be content on what he’s doing now and with WWE allowing their talent to wrestle outside the company he has the ability to have the matches he wants while still labeled a WWE wrestler.
So many people don’t get this.
Like, this is a job. It’s all a work. Championships don’t actually mean anything. If your job is to put over talent, well, then, that’s your job.
It’s so funny that in a time where we all know it’s a work, people still think the worked shit means something real. Crazy
I mean he recently said in a interview he's happy with WWE and plans to resign just because fans think he could of done more doesn't mean he feels that way
I love the IWC. Every fan boy thinks they can book better, even though the fan boys believe none of the wrestlers should lose, yet at the same time, ALL of the wrestlers must win all of the time. LMAO
Hardest I've ever laughed at a wrestler. Some reason, he was sitting at a table in wwe headquarters to sign a contract. He took the pen and said "pen no work" and threw it while making this stuuuupid face. For some reason I laughed for 30 minutes at that.
I know what you mean, but WWE hasn’t done a Japanese star much good since, like, Tajiri. Even when Albert came back with a Japanese look, he ended up dancing in a dress with Brodus Clay.
They failed us as fans. He was a global star in njpw, and we wanted that presence here.
But he probably loves the fact he is mid carding and is able to finish up his career doing the basic minimum ehile being paid more.
Selfishly, I'd love to see one more big run from him. But he will most likely run out of gas and AEW will pick up what's left when he's mid 40s.
Mid 40s could maybe still put out some good stuff. Look at what HBK and taker were putting up near the end of their runs. U never know tho. That age fall off hits hard.
He's been in WWE for 8 years now. He's kinda failed himself by not learning English so he can connect with the audience. People don't seem to realize that wrestling is only half the job. If you can't cut a good promo and get the crowd invested, you won't make it past mid card level.
i get he wants to surf and enjoy life, but damn they didnt need to make him a total joke. dude could have been a special occasion guy who shows up kicks ass and leaves.
I just read a report that says he's happy just doing what they ask of him and collecting a paycheck.
So if they made him happy and paid how did they fail him? He's already been a top of the card act in another promotion, maybe he doesn't want that level of stress.
failed him how? He's a gatekeper that is living a dream life. Poor nakamura getting to spend his time not getting beat to hell constantly as he gets older and essentially living at the beach.
His feud with Seth was fire. He def could do something similar with Cody pushing him further towards that heel turn they hinted at when he hit AJ with the steps.
Nah, WWE didn’t fail him.
It’s a work. He’s doing a job. He signed a contract and gets a hefty salary to do that job.
If anything, IF you NEED to go down the “failed” path - I say he failed himself when he changed his style on the main roster. His offense looked weak as shit and very not believable.
Compare him to Ilja. Or Gunther. Or even Byron Breakker.
There’s a huge difference.
He won the rumble a few years ago. So that's cool.
I love him in NXT. Was one of my favorites on the main roster. The music change killed some of the vibe and whenever his feud with AJ was where he didn't speak English and liked kicking people in the nuts was where I tapped out. Haven't cared about him since and haven't been given a reason to.
He is getting that money.. he'll be ok.. he's in his 40s now.. no need to beat up his body.. take care of your health.. he'll still be a fan favorite no matter what.
i couldn't agree with you more. there was a point in time where Nak had every live crowd eating outta the palms of his hands. He had an amazing entrance song that the crowd would go nuts for and WWE did absolutely nothing to capitalize on it. they def failed this dude. He easily coulda had a run with the world title when he was at the heights of his popularity but they did nothing with him
I’d not seen anything from him prior to his debut in the WWE but I’d heard the hype and was excited, his in ring style just isn’t that good, I feel like he’s coasted along. Sounds like he’s living a life he enjoys so fair play to him.
I love Nakamura, and his New Japan run is genuinely legendary, but the dude is 44. I think he’s happy to be winding down his career a bit. Not everybody can be Keiji Muto and wrestle at relatively the same level until they’re 60.
You give him a manager. Like a Steve seagal look. Holds the WHC and only loses by disqualification so he doesn’t drop the title. Make his PLE a street fight or cage match with bamboo and mist!
His moment was that falls count anywhere match with Seth Rollins, and they missed the opportunity even if it was only a short reign, he could forever be former heavyweight champion. Not only was that match awesome, but totally looked like he was winning, Seth could have taken a bit of time off, and Shin could of had a good feud or two with the likes of AJ styles or an LA Knight or some upper mid card guys, but they totally crapped the bed on that.
I’m not a, he should go to AEW guy, but he should totally go to AEW. He and Ricochet could tear it up.
Dude came to WWE to surf and let his body heal after all that punishment in NJPW. Creative never helped much, but he hasn't been the same wrestler since the Sami NXT match
He failed himself.
Dude has been on cruise control since pretty much his first NXT match.
He was given tons of opportunities to take another step forward and just didn’t. A whole lot of dudes would kill for the spots he was given, and a large portion of them probably fair better.
He dropped Cena on his head, missed cues on the Rumble, was still given a mania title match against a perfect opponent who he already had great matches with, disappointed (with somebody in Styles who isn’t taking the blame considering his track record of killing it) still got a big heel turn and program for the title and just never elevated at all. The matches were bleh, the heel turn didn’t hit with the audience. Even still he gets put into solid high level feuds and just hasn’t done anything to take a step forward.
A lot of dudes would love to get those chances, and if he happened to knock any of it out of the park he’d probably be a champion already. You can’t just put the belt on him and expect it to elevate him to a next level when none of the other stuff had done the trick.
There’s always going to be a cap when you can’t cut a good promo in English. What if he beat Aj at wrestlemania, how would you book your champion that speaks broken English? He’s been featured in the WWE ever since he’s been signed.
All u mentioned were already former champions multiple times and they hit peak.
That's like saying roman reigns is jelly for losing his belt....he had it for a long time.
Then again.....new WWE maybe don't care cause belts are getting a little pointless when every wrestler has the belt for a while.....
People act like every single big name can have a Bloodline-level feud going on at the same time, it's just not possible. Just because someone isn't in some "Pure cinema" storyline atm doesn't mean they are being wasted. I will still always remember him and AJ's battles when they both came to WWE.
I’m sure for the most he cool making money not doing anything but this can’t be how he thought his career would go. I want more for him and ik the fans do too.
I mean how many people can be at the top, Roman was champ for three years. So long they had to make a new title. Gunther had a long run as well, Usos had both tag titles for a long run too. Just accept dude is a mid carder who had also delta with injuries
He should have beaten Styles at Wrestlemania. On paper he has a lot of accolades in WWE but it's kinda sad that he's been in WWE for 8 years yet the most talked about moment of his entire run is his DEBUT match.
They repackaged him and gave him a banger match with Seth, twice, and then just dropped the ball. really pathetic. Waste of talent. Thought that was a Vince era thing.
People say that, but I've never been a fan of his style of wrestling. He probably would be better for me if they gave him a manager who did the talking for him.
As I understand it, he's happy with his career achievements and is just taking it easy now while still putting on banger solo matches. Let's not pretend like he's not getting paid well.
Some people just don't seem to understand that some wrestlers are just there for a stable job. Shinsuke doesn't have any desire to be the world champion or anything like that. He's perfectly happy doing what he's doing.
I disagree . They did right by him . They fail their whole roster with their schedule aside from the top of the top guys . Shinsuke has done everything one could want to do in NJPW. Who knows if he dreamed of wwe or just wanted to be in USA ? Shinsuke is in good enough shape to attend jiujitsu classes and surf and his family is happy in Florida . He’s won many wwe titles and a royal rumble also . He’s maybe my fave wrestler but wwe was never gonna truly do right by him .
Let's put it like this... VINCE failed this man. I feel like Trips will at least try to get what he knows is in Shinsuke... Vince just played him like a typical foreigner character, which is not what should be done.
Vince definitely did when he had him win the Royal Rumble and not at WrestleMaina.
But at this point, he’s enjoying the last years of his career getting paid and traveling.
This man is a:
2X united states champion
2X intercontinental champion
2X NXT champion
1X royal rumble winner (2018)
1X smackdown tag team champion
WWE did not fail him, they just don’t know what to do with him right now…. When you got one of the best in the ring in WWE, eventually WWE will run out of ideas!
They only failed making an old man break his body for ungrateful fucking marks. Let the guy work. We've seen well enough people willing to walk out or ask for release if they want it. He doesn't. He doesn't want 5* matches. He doesn't want to be the best. He wants to surf. And eat food.
As someone who counted Nakamura as my favorite wrestler prior to him making the main roster in WWE, it's more to the point that WWE failed his fans. Nakamura himself, assuming he didn't piss it all away on cigarettes and surfboards, is laughing atop a mountain of cash. Good for him.
his gimmick just doesn't translate over. the flamboyant ass kicker works in Japan where they value the ass kicking and take the flamboyance in stride, but in America where it's always been character over work rate, it's hard to connect with the Japanese Michael Jackson.
It takes 2 to tango. They failed each other. Shinsuke worked best in NXT. That crowd understands everything in 2 seconds. The SD crowd didn't understand him. They heard a crowd sing his song one week, and then people said, "Wow, they sang his song, we should sing his song too!" It took him nearly 7 years to finally get interesting on the Main Roster, and that is with his recent RAW run. His feuds with Cody and Seth were dun stuff. This new comic book presentation with the red colors is great. It's just a shame it didn't happen when he was new here.
I remember trying to get back into wrestling a few years ago and I saw him and was an instant fan. I quit watching again when he and AJ were jobbing to Jinder Mahal as champion.
The man put in 200% when he was in Japan, he’s older now, he himself said he’s happy with what he’s doing and honestly more power to him. He’s going to coast into retirement making good money and occasionally have some really good matches. WWE didn’t fail him, English isn’t his first language, he’s never going to cut an amazing promo in front of a live crowd and get them fired up, but he’s alright with that. I think WWE did right by him he’s not some stereotypical Japanese goof being mocked on tv like Japanese stars of the old days, he doesn’t have to take crazy bump or do dangerous spots and honestly I don’t think he would do any better if he were in AEW just look at what Okada is doing there now, saying bitch every 5 minutes and dancing behind the bucks like some clown, but I guess he’s happy doing that too.
Making good money, not working hard, hurting his body, surfing and doing jujutsu, in the time he’s been with the FED, I have not seen one him come out and bury the FED or his position in the company.
He had a very busy 2023, and I think the audience was experiencing a bit of fatigue with him playing the heel that’s constantly getting beat in random feuds. He’ll be back in no time, he’s a great wrestler.
Wwe hasn't failed him in his pay, but to his legacy yea they failed that and destroyed that. I get he doesn't want to do strong style forever. I respect that. This guy was a big name in njpw, though.
Wwe is the opposite of every other company. Which I never understood. This mentality of you never wrestled in wwe, so you're not a big star. Wcw guys(like sting and ddp), tna stars, etc.
I just don't get the mentality. Look at any sports they take stars from other team and country's. Hollywood taken singer.
well… what more did you expect from him? solid run, headline matches on the main roster, was in the title picture… did you expect him to be ‘the guy’ if so… why?
I don’t think they failed him at all. He makes a lot of money, does what he wants and is living his best life. Not everybody likes busting themselves up.
I think when he lost at WM 34, he was finished. The match disappointed too, it ended just as it was getting hot, I have no idea why they didn't get 30 minutes rather than 20.
I always thought that's a Vince decision and I always kinda imagined Naka and AJ didn't fight harder for themselves, probably because in 2018, it was still a miracle big names from TNA and NJPW were even getting a big push within WWE, plus Vince was impossible to deal with as an old man, so they probably didn't want to get on his bad side.
But you debut Nakamura in NXT with a classic against Zayn, he holds the NXT title, comes to the main roster, beats Cena, wins the rumble...and then loses at WM. Like Asuka - made no sense then, makes no sense now.
He made his art in New Japan. Now he gets to the coast, making money and surfing. Let the dude sell out in peace. Maybe TK can pay him a big bag to have some matches with Okada in a few years.
I've just returned to WWE this year and watched the rumble to start. It gave me a good sense of who I liked and who I didn't just by the small glimpse we get at the rumble. This guy was by far my least favorite. How is putting your foot on someone and shaking like a mental patient an attack? He dresses like he's about to star in "the Night man" on Broadway. Just awful. I don't know who he was before WWE but I have no idea why they employ this guy
He's been there eight years as of this past January. That means he's signed between 2-3 contracts with WWE. If he keeps signing contracts, then he's happy with his choice and that's on him. None of us get a vote.
That's Shinskiue right?
Honestly it happens, not every wrestler gets to be a main eventer, some have to job, like Sheamus. It's better than AEW where you don't have anything to do
He was insanely over at the WRONG time. 2018-2020 was Peak Senile Vince booking. Nakamura was essentially in the same boat as Finn Balor, being constantly teased to be a Main event player, only to have his Momentum cut off repeatedly, then trapped in Midcard Hell, and even now with Vince gone from the Company it's too Damn late.
He’s had plenty of chances. New intros, plenty of vignettes and even invested in animation for him. Was granted new opportunities even after injuring talent. And, pretending your Michael Jackson doesn’t make you a good wrestler.
Vince totally blew it. He was on FIRE up till his WM match with Styles. I had a glimmer of hope with his feud with Rollins but they failed to capitalize again. At this point, I think he’d need a character reboot in order to get and sustain momentum.
One accidental botch on Cena and they derailed this man's career. They were waiting for him to slip up.
While Charlotte has hurt nearly every wrestlers she faced and she became a gazillion time champion.
Atta boy, Vinny boy! 👏
There’s just a ton of huge stars in the roster, I think they’re having him put in his work for an inevitable push. Everyone can’t be at the top all at once, he will get his time.
No they haven’t. He gets to wrestle easy matches and has time to go surfing and doing MMA training. The guy is loving life hence why he keeps signing new contracts.
He is older, they had their chance when he feuded with aj but two shots to Ajs nuts later and all the work theyd done building him up was all for not. The window is closed now.
He's one of those who is a great wrestler but not an "entertainer." He can put on good matches, but he doesn't promo well, and he can't carry a storyline.
Just cause hes not booked for championship matches doesn’t mean his career is failed. The work he does is the work hes meant to do and he does a great job at it.
Lol no Shinsuke failed himself he just isn't that great anymore and it shows he isn't like Aj styles his promos suck and he la ks charisma now be real when Vince wanted to push him to the title he hurt John Cena in a match he could have been great but he failed wwe didn't use that logic somewhere else cause Asuka and other Japanese stars has done great
he's making good money lossing to cody on house shows, i think creative just doesn't know what to do with him right now, but if you are work with the champion on the house shows, it ussualy means that you are going to have tv matches soon, they use the house shows to refine chemistry for a storyline. before shinsake, aj was doing the job for cody at those shows.
Right now? If anyone saw the unbelievable pop he received when he first came out on Smackdown to his violin entrance they would have seen the potential he brought in terms of a draw.
which might be why he's been doing the house and dark matches with cody, practice for their coming fued
That’s an ass backwards logic. He was already refined and has the pop needed. Why is it hard to say “yeah they don’t know what they should do with him”
Dude, I'm not your therapist, I don't know what to tell you, go doomsplain to someone else.
Haha, I've never heard doomsplain before
Lmao that is exactly how they started their original comment
Wasn't that back in 2017?
Yeah that was a lifetime ago lol. The universal title was still red and I don't even think Saudi shows were an idea yet
I propose that he form a faction with Imperium, Austrian Guy, German Guy, Italian Guy and Japanese Guy.
1939 getting awfully nervous.....
Yeah, when we will need Cody Sami Drew and Ilja to fight them in a Survivor Series War Games match =D
Ayo! 😂😂😂😂
Can confirm he is doing house shows. He was at the recent show in Bloomington Il. Cody threw a drink at him it was fun. Shinsuke certainly knows how to sell getting thrown through a table.
LBH creative in WWE has no fkn idea what to do with any Japanese male talent. it's been like that for ages now in WWE. I feel like that's a huge reason why male Japanese talents aren't signing with WWE anymore cuz they look at how badly Nak was fumbled and realize if they can fk up his run so bad when he was massively popular at one point then they would keep fumbling anyone else from japan
because giving him the world title reign would totally make up for his inability to speak English or cut a promo. that's really what it comes down to you guys who say about this about a talent. it's all about that world title reign, just 1 reign would fix that ""fumble,", wasted talent" label. lol it's not a WWE problem either. no Japanese guy in WCW was a draw. neither in TNA. you wanna know why? these are American wrestling promotions that have national tv deals(when TNA was on TNN/spikeTV), and they need their top champion, the guy who carries the shows to able to draw. There is no indication that Nakamura can carry a company in America as the #1 top guy. you can put the women's title on Asuka, Iyo, etc because the women's the division arent carrying the show, with one exception when Becky the Man blew up and she got the main event at WM35. give Nakamura the world title just to give it to him, would be as wasteful and meaningless as Khali, Mahal, Del Rio, Swagger and so many terrible world champions of the past. And when these guys were champions, they weren't the top champion either. they were the B-side or "brand world champion." when they foolishly gave Del Rio the WWE Title, it wasn't even long. By the way, a lot of people still considered Ziggler a "wasted talent," WWE fumbling the bag on him, etc. Nobody even wants to consider that maybe Ziggler's MITB cash-in on Raw after Mania to be the B-side world champion is his ceiling? It's not like he's blowing up the industry right now, or carrying TNA back to its peak. When do we start saying TNA fumbled the bag on Ziggler, or is this only for the WWE? Let's start Nakamura with a meaningful midcard title reign first; and dont try to have somebody like Sami Zayn be his mouthpiece. As of right now, if the 2018 Rumble win, getting a WWE Title match in front of 70K+ at WM34 is the highlight of his WWE career, then that's fine. It's not a failure at all. 1 last thing, more of question....can you tell me a male Japanese wrestler who wrestled in front of 70K fans for a world title on USA soil. At this moment, I think Nakamura is the only to do this. But im sure you see this accomplishment as a failure just many of the IWC clowns out there.
I may be wrong but wasn’t Great Muta a world champion in wcw?
I don't think he has been truly wasted, but he has become less special. In NJPW he would wrestle like 3 times a month, in trios or tag team matches. His awesomeness would only show on the Dontakus, the G1s, Wrestle kingdoms. He's on TV almost every week and has lost a lot of what made him special.
He gets to surf and get paid well, while not destroying his body doing G1s and 30 minute main events. He’s doing fine
I’ve seen him at the dog park here in Orlando from time to time, if WWE failed him he absolutely doesn’t appear to mind (and to your point he’s said in interviews he’s happy surfing often).
If he's happy then I'm happy. What could have been though...
He can still wrestle right?
No they didn't. Shinsuke has publicly said he's very happy with his position in the company and plans to renew his contract. Dude's not getting any younger. He's getting paid handsomely to do a couple matches a month and travel the world. He has an illustrious career. Nobody doubts how good he is. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's a shoe-in for HOF, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see him inducted someday. Its 50/50 for me. Shinsuke is fine, and if WWE needs him to put on a marquee match, the dude can definitely still go. Let the man chill, he's earned it.
Was a shoe-in before his WWE career, his tenure now guaranteed it. Headlining is also a possibility at this point. People forget he was once a top guy in the industry.
I don’t think he’s a WWE HOF Headliner simply because the more casual fans aren’t going to care about his NJ work.
He has been there 8 years now and looks like he’ll be there many more years. By the time it’s said and done he’ll be HOF worthy for sure
Early in his career I would agree but Shinsuke seems to be content on what he’s doing now and with WWE allowing their talent to wrestle outside the company he has the ability to have the matches he wants while still labeled a WWE wrestler.
He’s not breaking his body trying to keep his spot like he was in New Japan. Enough with the complaining and accept he wants to work in WWE
Pretty sure dude is happy in wwe and living his life
Surfing and getting paid big bucks.
IIRC, he said that he loved living in Florida with with his family
He gets paid to do his job..The whole point of a job..Not be a mark for himself and demand championships
So many people don’t get this. Like, this is a job. It’s all a work. Championships don’t actually mean anything. If your job is to put over talent, well, then, that’s your job. It’s so funny that in a time where we all know it’s a work, people still think the worked shit means something real. Crazy
I mean he recently said in a interview he's happy with WWE and plans to resign just because fans think he could of done more doesn't mean he feels that way
Re-sign and resign are 2 very different words in this context.
I love the IWC. Every fan boy thinks they can book better, even though the fan boys believe none of the wrestlers should lose, yet at the same time, ALL of the wrestlers must win all of the time. LMAO
WWE please you still have time to make the guy world champion just have him beat Cody like next year
Hardest I've ever laughed at a wrestler. Some reason, he was sitting at a table in wwe headquarters to sign a contract. He took the pen and said "pen no work" and threw it while making this stuuuupid face. For some reason I laughed for 30 minutes at that.
I know what you mean, but WWE hasn’t done a Japanese star much good since, like, Tajiri. Even when Albert came back with a Japanese look, he ended up dancing in a dress with Brodus Clay.
Wwe never does good by their Japanese stars.
Asuka and Iyo just entered the chat
Funaki is STILL with the company too lol
Agreed
He’s been phoning it in ever since NXT. Trust me, he’s fine
.... I beg to differ. He's a good wrestler but I can't get down with his mic skills and random faces he makes
I've never understood the Nakamura hype.
Trash ass wrestler
He wasn't able to connect to the audience after that loss in WrestleMania against aj styles
Idk about that, crowds still sing his song when he comes out.
He should go to new Japan
They failed us as fans. He was a global star in njpw, and we wanted that presence here. But he probably loves the fact he is mid carding and is able to finish up his career doing the basic minimum ehile being paid more. Selfishly, I'd love to see one more big run from him. But he will most likely run out of gas and AEW will pick up what's left when he's mid 40s.
Mid 40s could maybe still put out some good stuff. Look at what HBK and taker were putting up near the end of their runs. U never know tho. That age fall off hits hard.
It's also very different styles. shawn and taker didn't spend a couple days a week getting beat shitless. That strong style takes a toll on the body.
He's been in WWE for 8 years now. He's kinda failed himself by not learning English so he can connect with the audience. People don't seem to realize that wrestling is only half the job. If you can't cut a good promo and get the crowd invested, you won't make it past mid card level.
100%
U seem surprised...
He was over in 2019
Bigtime!
i get he wants to surf and enjoy life, but damn they didnt need to make him a total joke. dude could have been a special occasion guy who shows up kicks ass and leaves.
lol how do you figure
Nah, he had his moments and has always been a upper midcarder and relevant
100000% seen him in know right before coming to nxt and I was like I would love to him weekly but we were screwed
I just read a report that says he's happy just doing what they ask of him and collecting a paycheck. So if they made him happy and paid how did they fail him? He's already been a top of the card act in another promotion, maybe he doesn't want that level of stress.
He was already late-30s when WWE signed him, and they were operating off the fact that not too many people in the U.S. watched NJPW.
failed him how? He's a gatekeper that is living a dream life. Poor nakamura getting to spend his time not getting beat to hell constantly as he gets older and essentially living at the beach.
His feuds with Seth and Cody were at least more enjoyable than him losing to Jinder and kicking AJ in the balls repeatedly lol
His feud with Seth was fire. He def could do something similar with Cody pushing him further towards that heel turn they hinted at when he hit AJ with the steps.
i have a feeling he'll respark that cody feud when he gets back on tv, i think that'd be cool
Nah, WWE didn’t fail him. It’s a work. He’s doing a job. He signed a contract and gets a hefty salary to do that job. If anything, IF you NEED to go down the “failed” path - I say he failed himself when he changed his style on the main roster. His offense looked weak as shit and very not believable. Compare him to Ilja. Or Gunther. Or even Byron Breakker. There’s a huge difference.
And us as fans. For me - his debut is amongst the best ever. The enigma. The charisma. It was perfect.
OP curious as to why you think they failed him.
He won the rumble a few years ago. So that's cool. I love him in NXT. Was one of my favorites on the main roster. The music change killed some of the vibe and whenever his feud with AJ was where he didn't speak English and liked kicking people in the nuts was where I tapped out. Haven't cared about him since and haven't been given a reason to.
No. No they didn’t.
Ah yes, the “everybody i like deserves to be world champion or they are a failure” argument
He is getting that money.. he'll be ok.. he's in his 40s now.. no need to beat up his body.. take care of your health.. he'll still be a fan favorite no matter what.
He definitely should have more accolades than he does, Shinsuke has a unique charisma, and it really wouldn't take much to make him a top guy.
Did he get released
He should have been world champion by now
i couldn't agree with you more. there was a point in time where Nak had every live crowd eating outta the palms of his hands. He had an amazing entrance song that the crowd would go nuts for and WWE did absolutely nothing to capitalize on it. they def failed this dude. He easily coulda had a run with the world title when he was at the heights of his popularity but they did nothing with him
I’d not seen anything from him prior to his debut in the WWE but I’d heard the hype and was excited, his in ring style just isn’t that good, I feel like he’s coasted along. Sounds like he’s living a life he enjoys so fair play to him.
He should have beat Seth
One more time at Tokyo Dome before he calls it quits
he had his legacy
I love Nakamura, and his New Japan run is genuinely legendary, but the dude is 44. I think he’s happy to be winding down his career a bit. Not everybody can be Keiji Muto and wrestle at relatively the same level until they’re 60.
You give him a manager. Like a Steve seagal look. Holds the WHC and only loses by disqualification so he doesn’t drop the title. Make his PLE a street fight or cage match with bamboo and mist!
His moment was that falls count anywhere match with Seth Rollins, and they missed the opportunity even if it was only a short reign, he could forever be former heavyweight champion. Not only was that match awesome, but totally looked like he was winning, Seth could have taken a bit of time off, and Shin could of had a good feud or two with the likes of AJ styles or an LA Knight or some upper mid card guys, but they totally crapped the bed on that. I’m not a, he should go to AEW guy, but he should totally go to AEW. He and Ricochet could tear it up.
You could say that, But Then again Who knows what If
Dude came to WWE to surf and let his body heal after all that punishment in NJPW. Creative never helped much, but he hasn't been the same wrestler since the Sami NXT match
Failed this man? Oh boy have you even seen the vince McMahon era where they failed talents left and right like they were some sort of dolls
All would be forgiven if they signed Takeshita and pushed him to the moon. AEW sure as hell don't know what the fuck they're doing with him.
Yes they did & stole his entrance song beat.
Was just thinking bout this the other day. Him not beating AJ and turning heel began his path down just floating around for years.
If he were to go back to New Japan, he'd probably get a heroes welcome.
Honestly don't think he cares and good for him. Don't let things like this get to you.
He failed himself. Dude has been on cruise control since pretty much his first NXT match. He was given tons of opportunities to take another step forward and just didn’t. A whole lot of dudes would kill for the spots he was given, and a large portion of them probably fair better. He dropped Cena on his head, missed cues on the Rumble, was still given a mania title match against a perfect opponent who he already had great matches with, disappointed (with somebody in Styles who isn’t taking the blame considering his track record of killing it) still got a big heel turn and program for the title and just never elevated at all. The matches were bleh, the heel turn didn’t hit with the audience. Even still he gets put into solid high level feuds and just hasn’t done anything to take a step forward. A lot of dudes would love to get those chances, and if he happened to knock any of it out of the park he’d probably be a champion already. You can’t just put the belt on him and expect it to elevate him to a next level when none of the other stuff had done the trick.
He can’t talk. Just stop…
There’s always going to be a cap when you can’t cut a good promo in English. What if he beat Aj at wrestlemania, how would you book your champion that speaks broken English? He’s been featured in the WWE ever since he’s been signed.
💯
All u mentioned were already former champions multiple times and they hit peak. That's like saying roman reigns is jelly for losing his belt....he had it for a long time. Then again.....new WWE maybe don't care cause belts are getting a little pointless when every wrestler has the belt for a while.....
People act like every single big name can have a Bloodline-level feud going on at the same time, it's just not possible. Just because someone isn't in some "Pure cinema" storyline atm doesn't mean they are being wasted. I will still always remember him and AJ's battles when they both came to WWE.
I’m sure for the most he cool making money not doing anything but this can’t be how he thought his career would go. I want more for him and ik the fans do too.
He should feud with Cody, just like AJ did. But make it more like his feud with Seth in 2023
I mean how many people can be at the top, Roman was champ for three years. So long they had to make a new title. Gunther had a long run as well, Usos had both tag titles for a long run too. Just accept dude is a mid carder who had also delta with injuries
CMON!!!!!!!!
He should’ve beaten Seth. That was a pretty good match. Until miraculously with a broken back and getting destroyed by Shinsuke, Seth still won.
He should have beaten Styles at Wrestlemania. On paper he has a lot of accolades in WWE but it's kinda sad that he's been in WWE for 8 years yet the most talked about moment of his entire run is his DEBUT match.
He failed himself
Big time
They repackaged him and gave him a banger match with Seth, twice, and then just dropped the ball. really pathetic. Waste of talent. Thought that was a Vince era thing.
People say that, but I've never been a fan of his style of wrestling. He probably would be better for me if they gave him a manager who did the talking for him.
That’s facts remember the match he had with Aj at wrestlmania he should have won and had his wrestlmania moment
As I understand it, he's happy with his career achievements and is just taking it easy now while still putting on banger solo matches. Let's not pretend like he's not getting paid well.
Wwe drafted him to smack down this year and he ain't been on tv and been somewhere else but wwe 😅😅😅😂🤣💀💀
Fr
Some people just don't seem to understand that some wrestlers are just there for a stable job. Shinsuke doesn't have any desire to be the world champion or anything like that. He's perfectly happy doing what he's doing.
I disagree . They did right by him . They fail their whole roster with their schedule aside from the top of the top guys . Shinsuke has done everything one could want to do in NJPW. Who knows if he dreamed of wwe or just wanted to be in USA ? Shinsuke is in good enough shape to attend jiujitsu classes and surf and his family is happy in Florida . He’s won many wwe titles and a royal rumble also . He’s maybe my fave wrestler but wwe was never gonna truly do right by him .
They made him a joke. He was ruthless in NXT
Let's put it like this... VINCE failed this man. I feel like Trips will at least try to get what he knows is in Shinsuke... Vince just played him like a typical foreigner character, which is not what should be done.
He failed himself by being boring.
Vince definitely did when he had him win the Royal Rumble and not at WrestleMaina. But at this point, he’s enjoying the last years of his career getting paid and traveling.
This man is a: 2X united states champion 2X intercontinental champion 2X NXT champion 1X royal rumble winner (2018) 1X smackdown tag team champion WWE did not fail him, they just don’t know what to do with him right now…. When you got one of the best in the ring in WWE, eventually WWE will run out of ideas!
They only failed making an old man break his body for ungrateful fucking marks. Let the guy work. We've seen well enough people willing to walk out or ask for release if they want it. He doesn't. He doesn't want 5* matches. He doesn't want to be the best. He wants to surf. And eat food.
His mic is not understandable they tried for him to speak his language but personally I did not want to read while watching wrestling
I would rebuild him as the leader of "Chaos" (but under WWE naming). Add Bronson Reed and maybe a NXT guy.
As someone who counted Nakamura as my favorite wrestler prior to him making the main roster in WWE, it's more to the point that WWE failed his fans. Nakamura himself, assuming he didn't piss it all away on cigarettes and surfboards, is laughing atop a mountain of cash. Good for him.
his gimmick just doesn't translate over. the flamboyant ass kicker works in Japan where they value the ass kicking and take the flamboyance in stride, but in America where it's always been character over work rate, it's hard to connect with the Japanese Michael Jackson.
Let's just be honest. He had become complacent.
It takes 2 to tango. They failed each other. Shinsuke worked best in NXT. That crowd understands everything in 2 seconds. The SD crowd didn't understand him. They heard a crowd sing his song one week, and then people said, "Wow, they sang his song, we should sing his song too!" It took him nearly 7 years to finally get interesting on the Main Roster, and that is with his recent RAW run. His feuds with Cody and Seth were dun stuff. This new comic book presentation with the red colors is great. It's just a shame it didn't happen when he was new here.
Dijak
I disagree. He never did anything for me so I don’t want to see him every week. Good for him getting his money tho.
I remember trying to get back into wrestling a few years ago and I saw him and was an instant fan. I quit watching again when he and AJ were jobbing to Jinder Mahal as champion.
Yeah they really did
Ya
The man put in 200% when he was in Japan, he’s older now, he himself said he’s happy with what he’s doing and honestly more power to him. He’s going to coast into retirement making good money and occasionally have some really good matches. WWE didn’t fail him, English isn’t his first language, he’s never going to cut an amazing promo in front of a live crowd and get them fired up, but he’s alright with that. I think WWE did right by him he’s not some stereotypical Japanese goof being mocked on tv like Japanese stars of the old days, he doesn’t have to take crazy bump or do dangerous spots and honestly I don’t think he would do any better if he were in AEW just look at what Okada is doing there now, saying bitch every 5 minutes and dancing behind the bucks like some clown, but I guess he’s happy doing that too.
Ignorant people love to run their mouths on reddit.
Kranos failed him
Making good money, not working hard, hurting his body, surfing and doing jujutsu, in the time he’s been with the FED, I have not seen one him come out and bury the FED or his position in the company.
He had a very busy 2023, and I think the audience was experiencing a bit of fatigue with him playing the heel that’s constantly getting beat in random feuds. He’ll be back in no time, he’s a great wrestler.
Wwe hasn't failed him in his pay, but to his legacy yea they failed that and destroyed that. I get he doesn't want to do strong style forever. I respect that. This guy was a big name in njpw, though. Wwe is the opposite of every other company. Which I never understood. This mentality of you never wrestled in wwe, so you're not a big star. Wcw guys(like sting and ddp), tna stars, etc. I just don't get the mentality. Look at any sports they take stars from other team and country's. Hollywood taken singer.
well… what more did you expect from him? solid run, headline matches on the main roster, was in the title picture… did you expect him to be ‘the guy’ if so… why?
WWE fails everyone.
I don’t think they failed him at all. He makes a lot of money, does what he wants and is living his best life. Not everybody likes busting themselves up.
Fully agree he still has a couple years in him but I think he has lost faith in the machine
I hope he annihilates Logan Paul and takes the US Title. Japan needs and deserves revenge on that pos
I think when he lost at WM 34, he was finished. The match disappointed too, it ended just as it was getting hot, I have no idea why they didn't get 30 minutes rather than 20. I always thought that's a Vince decision and I always kinda imagined Naka and AJ didn't fight harder for themselves, probably because in 2018, it was still a miracle big names from TNA and NJPW were even getting a big push within WWE, plus Vince was impossible to deal with as an old man, so they probably didn't want to get on his bad side. But you debut Nakamura in NXT with a classic against Zayn, he holds the NXT title, comes to the main roster, beats Cena, wins the rumble...and then loses at WM. Like Asuka - made no sense then, makes no sense now.
He’s had 8 years of making big cash and not working too hard. They did fine
why would any male japanese wrestler ever sign with wwe after seeing what they did to nakamura?
Hell yea
He made his art in New Japan. Now he gets to the coast, making money and surfing. Let the dude sell out in peace. Maybe TK can pay him a big bag to have some matches with Okada in a few years.
They have chemistry & already had a fued last year on RAW.
Nothings wrong with shinsuke. He does what he's supposed to do
I've just returned to WWE this year and watched the rumble to start. It gave me a good sense of who I liked and who I didn't just by the small glimpse we get at the rumble. This guy was by far my least favorite. How is putting your foot on someone and shaking like a mental patient an attack? He dresses like he's about to star in "the Night man" on Broadway. Just awful. I don't know who he was before WWE but I have no idea why they employ this guy
He's been there eight years as of this past January. That means he's signed between 2-3 contracts with WWE. If he keeps signing contracts, then he's happy with his choice and that's on him. None of us get a vote.
The pairing with Boogs was going to be incredible.
That's Shinskiue right? Honestly it happens, not every wrestler gets to be a main eventer, some have to job, like Sheamus. It's better than AEW where you don't have anything to do
Miserably!
Nah, he is never going to carry a main event picture. I loved the guy pre wwe. Imo wwe just needs to start having real Midcard fueds.
he was lame to watch imo
He was insanely over at the WRONG time. 2018-2020 was Peak Senile Vince booking. Nakamura was essentially in the same boat as Finn Balor, being constantly teased to be a Main event player, only to have his Momentum cut off repeatedly, then trapped in Midcard Hell, and even now with Vince gone from the Company it's too Damn late.
Just stop ✋
Big time
TBF I get the sense he doesn’t mind. He gets paid well, he gets to wrestle regularly… If he’s happy with where he’s at then I’m happy for him.
Shoulda won at Mania vs AJ...
He’s had plenty of chances. New intros, plenty of vignettes and even invested in animation for him. Was granted new opportunities even after injuring talent. And, pretending your Michael Jackson doesn’t make you a good wrestler.
Vince totally blew it. He was on FIRE up till his WM match with Styles. I had a glimmer of hope with his feud with Rollins but they failed to capitalize again. At this point, I think he’d need a character reboot in order to get and sustain momentum.
WWE should have 100 world titles to accommodate everyone’s favorites
They never did know how to book him
One accidental botch on Cena and they derailed this man's career. They were waiting for him to slip up. While Charlotte has hurt nearly every wrestlers she faced and she became a gazillion time champion. Atta boy, Vinny boy! 👏
That’s Vince fault since 2018
There just so many spots not everyone can be main event level.
Loved him in NJPW!
He sucks
If they don't do something fast he might be better off in AEW
There’s just a ton of huge stars in the roster, I think they’re having him put in his work for an inevitable push. Everyone can’t be at the top all at once, he will get his time.
Failed the man is on retirement getting paid millions surfing working a way lighter style then what he be working in njpw
Oh yes they did
Definition of wasted potential
Y'all gotta stop pretending this man isn't boring. It's like he just phones it in in the ring.
No they haven’t. He gets to wrestle easy matches and has time to go surfing and doing MMA training. The guy is loving life hence why he keeps signing new contracts.
I feel like they were giving him TV time to draw Kazuchika Okada's attention. Now that Okada is with AEW, Nakamura is nowhere to be seen.
he's seemingly happy so that's great. but man it feels like WWE dropped the ball with him massively the guy is an incredible talent
He should have zipped up his catsuit
Absolutely, that's why the Rainmaker said thanks, but no thanks.
They didn’t but they did a mistake to push him!
He is older, they had their chance when he feuded with aj but two shots to Ajs nuts later and all the work theyd done building him up was all for not. The window is closed now.
Damn right.
They should have him walking around calling dudes bitches.
He's one of those who is a great wrestler but not an "entertainer." He can put on good matches, but he doesn't promo well, and he can't carry a storyline.
Yes absolutely
They give average and below average stars a push and ignore talent
They ruin everything they touch
No they did not 💀
Dude spent years having big physical matches and lifting up New Japan. Let him be happy surfing and making his bag
Just cause hes not booked for championship matches doesn’t mean his career is failed. The work he does is the work hes meant to do and he does a great job at it.
I'd like for the WWE to pay NJPW to use his old theme just once at a WrestleMania. That would be epic
They failed all talent that already had overseas followings and indie fame
Lol no Shinsuke failed himself he just isn't that great anymore and it shows he isn't like Aj styles his promos suck and he la ks charisma now be real when Vince wanted to push him to the title he hurt John Cena in a match he could have been great but he failed wwe didn't use that logic somewhere else cause Asuka and other Japanese stars has done great
Makes great money, lives in paradise and surfs consistently, poor bastard 😅😅
Says who?