Shinsuke Nakamura, WWE.com
As the NXT Champion prepares to take on Bobby Roode this weekend, we look back at Shinsuke Nakamura’s best matches in NXT thus far.
With NXT TakeOver: San Antonio scheduled to take place this coming Saturday night, and a brand new adversary in Bobby Roode looming on the horizon, the immediate future of NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura remains up in the air.
Prior to recapturing the title from Samoa Joe in Japan back in December, it looked as though Nakamura would be next in line for a promotion to the main roster.
But with Joe’s record-setting second reign with the gold lasting a mere two weeks, it’s more than likely that “The Samoan Submission Specialist” will be making his presence felt on the primary WWE program a lot sooner than “The King of Strong Style” – perhaps even as soon as Sunday’s Royal Rumble event.
That said, Shinsuke Nakamura is coming up on his first full year with NXT in April, and he’s had such a tremendous nine months with the brand that any promotion to the live weekly touring schedule of WWE is likely to result in success.
The man has proven himself to be one of the most stylistic, charismatic athletes in the company, and even with the ever-diminishing language barrier, he would be a vital acquisition to Raw or SmackDown Live when the time should come. Just look at the list of incredible performances that Nakamura has put in since signing a contract.
From his debut to the latest TakeOver, the man has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the right choice to take over from Finn Bálor as the face of NXT.
But before we see to Bobby Roode’s first one-on-one NXT Championship opportunity, there’s no harm in journeying back to take a look at exactly why Shinsuke Nakamura is heading into this big-time event with the Holy Grail of NXT wrapped around his waist. Let’s take a look at Shinsuke Nakamura’s five best matches on NXT.