Could Shinsuke Nakamura Be Headed for WWE’s Main Roster?
Shinsuke Nakamura suffered a stunning championship loss at NXT TakeOver: Toronto. Could this be a sign of bigger things to come for the King of Strong Style?
At Saturday’s NXT TakeOver: Toronto event, Samoa Joe defeated defending NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. In doing so, Joe became the first-ever 2-time NXT Champion. His victory was a stunning moment, as Nakamura was the odds-on favorite to win the match. With this stunning twist of fate, speculation is running wild for both men’s futures.
With this win, Joe is likely to remain in NXT to feud with another rising star on the brand. As for Nakamura, his loss points to one thing: a promotion to the main roster.
Nakamura had his first WWE match on April 2nd of this year at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, in a match that was widely-regarded as one of, if not the best match of the year. Since then, he has become the biggest star on the NXT roster, with fans cheering every little thing he does. Even his theme song is ridiculously over, with fans singing his theme song long after his entrance has ended.
Like his female counterpart Asuka, Nakamura was undefeated for quite some time, and this undefeated streak culminated in championship victory. But unlike Asuka, Nakamura was defeated for his championship, ending his reign at 91 days. Many thought he’d be champion for a long time and would carry the NXT brand going forward. Evidently, this defeat might signal a dramatic change in plans for him.
If this loss does indicate that the powers-that-be like Nakamura enough to speed up his main roster debut, now is the perfect time to do so. Rumors have been circulating that Survivor Series is to kick off with a major angle of some sort. No details have been given on what that could be, so WWE could pull off a major shock and have Nakamura debut at Survivor Series.
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There’s a perfect and logical storyline direction for them to take with him. Shane McMahon could pull off a major swerve at Survivor Series and announce he has given his spot in the traditional Survivor Series tag team match to SmackDown’s newest signee. That signee would be revealed to be Nakamura, who’d then face off against team RAW in Shane’s place.
It makes sense for Nakamura to be on SmackDown instead of RAW. He’s one of Daniel Bryan’s real-life friends, and Bryan wanted a dream match against him before announcing his retirement. Nakamura would also be a major asset on SmackDown, as he is an excellent wrestler with a built-in fanbase that precedes his WWE debut. He oozes charisma, has an excellent look and wrestling style and, as mentioned earlier, is incredibly popular with the audience. He’d be much better off on SmackDown instead of on RAW, where he’d get lost in the shuffle among main-eventers.
If there was ever a time for WWE to pull the trigger and promote someone to the main roster, it would be now. Many people believed that Nakamura didn’t really need to go to NXT when he was signed, but he proved how good he was there anyway. Now, it’s obvious to most people that Nakamura’s too big of a star to stay in NXT. He belongs on the main roster, like the true superstar he is.
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To that end, expect to hear lots of violins playing at Survivor Series.