Last night, Shinsuke Nakamura made his fist ever appearance on WWE‘s Talking Smack. In what turned out to be a delightful interview, Shinsuke talked about freestyling his entrance, surfing with James Ellsworth, and visiting a Home Depot to practice his ladder skills for Money in the Bank.
Things took an interesting turn when Renee Young asked Nakamura to play one-word association. Young tossed over MITB competitors and Nakamura happily obliged. For AJ Styles, Nakamura called him a “perfect 100” (compared to Tye Dillinger’s Perfect 10), Baron Corbin was inexperienced, and both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talked too much.
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But for Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke saved his most interesting answer.
Nakamura stated that Ziggler would likely be leaving WWE for Japan, “Probably soon.”
The transparent quote threw off Renee Young and the subject was quickly changed. Regardless, this innocent slip looks to contain valid information. Perhaps Nakamura didn’t know Talking Smack was live or maybe he thought no one would be watching. Either way, Dolph Ziggler is bound for an uncomfortable week.
There have been no rumors of a Ziggler leaving for Japan up until last night. However, Ziggler would be an ideal candidate for departure.
He’s been a valuable asset to WWE, playing the part of a mid-card gatekeeper for up and coming stars. But for Ziggler, the yearning for something more significant is all too real. He could be fantastic in Japan, if not, at least highly paid.
If the end is indeed near for Ziggler, no one can deny that he’s had a nice run in WWE. He’s developed a solid cult following through the years and still owns one of the loudest moments in recent WWE history (MITB cash-in on Alberto Del Rio). WWE would be losing one of its purest wrestlers as well, but Ziggler’s exit could create breathing room for guys like Sami Zayn.
For Nakamura, this appears to be an understandable mistake. English still seems challenging for him and he was likely just doing his best to have a coherent conversation. Either way, as wrestling fans, we love this type of inside info. It serves as a nice reminder that WWE’s parental controls are removed at Talking Smack – give it a watch.
