Despite his electric entrance, eccentric character, and magnetic charisma, Shinsuke Nakamura finds himself sinking in WWE.
As one of the more anticipated call-ups, Nakamura’s WWE debut created plenty of buzz. However, since his first appearance on WWE’s main roster, the King of Strong Style has been getting squeezed by the law of diminishing returns.
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On his show, E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness, WWE Hall of Famer, Edge, discussed the conundrum that is Shinsuke Nakamura.
“It’s strange with Nakamura, man, because, like you’ve said, we’ve seen his matches with AJ [Styles] in New Japan [Pro-Wrestling] and everything. With Randy [Orton], I’ve seen it. And with Sami [Zayn], I’ve seen it. But that match too, man, I really loved that match and after that, it’s like, anything else is going to be tough to live up to,” he said.
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Nakamura has certainly shown flashes of greatness. However, some of them have come with an asterisk. His triumph over John Cena to earn a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam was supposed to be a galvanizing moment. Yet, by botching the finish with a dangerous suplex, Nakamura found his big win tainted.
For Edge, Nakamura has the proverbial “it factor” but that may not mean he becomes a bankable main eventer in WWE.
“I mean, maybe [Nakamura will “get there”]. Maybe. Who knows? It’s a different beast entirely. People can blame it on booking, this, that, or the other. I don’t know. I think it’s weird. It just goes to show how different places to wrestle are completely different environments.”
Certainly, the bright lights of WWE are impossible to simulate. Regardless of how much success a wrestler had elsewhere, there is no guarantee that it will translate to WWE. For Nakamura, the cause for his apparent staleness is multifaceted.
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Working with a new champion like Jinder Mahal probably presents its own set of difficulties compared to say if Nakamura battled Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. Fans have been reluctant to accept Mahal, not because he’s a heel, but because we aren’t sure if he’s worthy of this run. Our skepticism has ultimately hurt Shinsuke, especially as he continues to lose to what we see as an undeserving champion.
Even more, it seems that Nakamura’s unique persona presented a confounding concept to WWE creative. Should he cut promos? Should he get full entrances? Should he wrestle every SmackDown? Instead of letting Nakamura enchant fans naturally, WWE is trying to create his brad without any true sense of identity.
So yes, Nakamura is currently struggling. But that doesn’t mean WWE should abandon his talent. Maybe an abrupt move to RAW, where he can work with more established and relevant wrestlers is the best way to draw out his full potential. Nakamura is a star, and stars are at their best on the biggest stages.
