Will Shinsuke Nakamura Be the Next Face of WWE NXT?

Is Shinsuke Nakamura the next person to carry NXT?

2016 has seen both the heart and soul of NXT in Sami Zayn, as well as the longest reigning NXT Champion in history in Finn Balor move on to the bigger stage of the main roster. With a huge void on their hands, who can fill the role of the brand’s top babyface? That person looks to be Shinsuke Nakamura.

Since his memorable debut in Dallas and the instant classic he put on with Sami Zayn, Nakamura has arguably become the WWE’s most popular superstar; a literal overnight sensation, perhaps rivaling AJ Styles for making an immediate impact. Nakamura’s had three sensational matches: his bout with Zayn in Dallas, one with Austin Aries at Takeover: The End, and a dream match against Finn Balor. Nakamura essentially defeated two of NXT’s top guys and sent them on their way to the main roster.

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Having beaten whom he regarded “the icon” of NXT in Finn Balor, Nakamura has positioned himself in line to get a shot at the NXT Title and the reigning, defending champion Samoa Joe. The dream match, for all intents and purposes, looks to be set for Takeover: Back to Brooklyn, and would be a huge main event as NXT aims to steal the weekend from SummerSlam and its own dream match, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton.

With Samoa Joe solidified as NXT’s top heel as well as the champion, it’s only logical that Shinsuke Nakamura becomes the top babyface

With Samoa Joe solidified as NXT’s top heel as well as the champion, it’s only logical that Shinsuke Nakamura becomes the top babyface of the brand, a role he will share with Bayley (who also appears to have a championship rematch against Asuka set for Back to Brooklyn) up until the beloved superstar will inevitably get called up sometime this year.

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The Nakamura era looks to have some of the finest talent NXT has seen in awhile in Joe, Aries, the debuting Bobby Roode, and a returning Hideo Itami each of whom Nakamura could have great matches with, ensuring the NXT title picture with quality wrestling. In addition, if WWE chooses to sign several of the participants from the Cruiserweight Classic, some, if not, all of them would without question be sent to NXT or Raw’s recently announced Cruiserweight division. This would mean the likes of Zack Sabre Jr., Cedric Alexander, TJ Perkins, and Kota Ibushi would all potentially be in this fourth era of NXT (following Rollins, Zayn, and Balor), with Nakamura being the top guy of the brand.

t would mean the brand will keep on rolling without missing much of a beat

It would most certainly be an exciting time for NXT in terms of star-power, name recognition, and match quality. Furthermore, it would mean the brand will keep on rolling without missing much of a beat, a fear that was certainly understandable given that they lost Sami Zayn and Finn Balor, and looks to be giving up Bayley to the main roster in the near future.

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Shinsuke Nakamura being the top guy in the smaller scale NXT will undoubtedly help him tremendously for when he eventually crosses over to the main roster. Already an immensely popular and over talent, him being in this role for NXT will allow him to grow and develop into hopefully a top guy for the WWE in the future. Whether it’s NXT or WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura succeeding in this role will shatter all sorts of glass ceilings for all international, some non-English speaking, wrestlers moving forward in this New Era.