You may not have heard much about him but much sooner than later you WILL get to hear about him. A huge star in Japan, Shinsuke Nakamura finally signed with the WWE a year back and has ever since become one of the most over stars on the roster.He’s been an NJPW legend ever since he joined the promotion in 2002 when he was just 22 years old. He is one of the few recent legendary signees from Japan. He joins the likes of Asuka and Hideo Itami, both of whose characters have been protected and built really well for the time that they’ve spent at NXT.It’ll be something to see what plans Triple h and co have for this 35-year-old star.Here are the 8 unknown facts about Nakamura-
#1 A Man of Many Knacks
Nakamura signed with NJPW in 2002 and began to be know as the ‘super rookie’ mainly because of how impressive he was as far as strength, speed, agility and technical skill were concerned. If that sort of versatility wasn’t enough, he made a foray into combat sports with MMA. He has trained in vale tudo.
He is also known to his fans as one of the most charismatic men on the planet. With all those skills to boast of, being charismatic is a total bonus. Finn Balor, with his substantial amount of experience in Japan, is a huge supporter of all these facts,
#2 He was once supposed to be loaned to WWE
The speculations revolving around WWE and Nakamura have not been a recent thing. Way back in 2006, it was speculated that he'll be loaned to WWE for some time so that he gains more experience when it comes to working American shows since wrestlng is all the rage there and the reach is quite large. But he was urgently called back when Brock Lesnar left the company and NJPW were in dire need to fill the void left by Lesnar. That more or less tells you how huge Nakamura is in Japan.
#3 Old Foe/Friend Lesnar
Speaking of Brock Lesnar, he is quite aware of who Shinsuke Nakamura is. So much so that the Japanese star faced the Beast Incarnate for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He lost but winning or losing isn't really the most important part of this story. Nakamura even planned to train with Lesnar in his personal gym and travel around the world, leaving Japan for some time.
#4 Defeated Kurt Angle
Brock Lesnar isn't the only American wrestler than Shinsuke Nakamura has faced. He has faced and also defeated former WWE superstar Kurt Angle, back when Angle was having his stint in Japan. Angle is now 48-years old. Kurt Angle was also one of the few wrestlers Brock Lesnar truly had a great feud with. With this victory he unified the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and his own NJPW version of the title.
#5 Better with Age
Like WWE's very own The Undertaker, Nakamura has gained more fame and had great matches as he's getting older. He was always a promising prospect in Japan but it was from 2010 and later that he finally began earning a lot of discussions surrounding him. So much so that the Wrestling Observer Newsletter voted him the 'Wrestler of the Year' in 2014 and also the 'Most Charismatic'.
#6 Man of Many Names
Nicknames are kind of the most usual thing surrounding wrestling.Given how versatile Nakamura's style of wrestling is, it has all garnered him quite a handful of nicknames. he's been known as the 'Super Rookie', 'The Child of God', 'The Black Savior', 'Supernova', 'King of Strong Style' and 'The samurai of NJPW'
So, rest assured, even without saying a word, Nakamura is capable of exuding some major charisma. If WWE is smart enough, they will know what they can do with a talent like that.
#7 Kevin Owens
Well, we've talked about Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, let's get to a more recent, young and talented superstar such as the likes of Kevin Owens. During the NJPW tour of North America, they went to Ring of Honor and guess who Nakamura faced? Just guess, the answer is not at all all over the place, is it?
#8 He was in \'Happy\'
Not actually the actual video but sort of close!
