Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese expert grappler and mixed martial artist. He is right now endorsed by WWE and performs on the RAW brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion (three times), with his first-ever reign coming at 23 years old years and 9 months which makes him the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion ever. His achievements inside the organization include winning the 2014 New Japan Cup, the last IWGP Third Belt Champion, the 2011 G1 Climax, the last NWF Heavyweight Champion and the longest-prevailing IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He is an establishing part and the first head of the group "Chaos". Nakamura was also a men's Royal Rumble winner in 2018.
Most recently, Nakamura announced himself for the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble Match, eyeing a potential second-time victory.
Also Read: What did Shinsuke Nakamura do before WWE?
WWE Titles of Shinsuke Nakamura
NXT Title
Nakamura affirmed in an interview that he would leave NJPW and will sign a contract with WWE. WWE held a public interview in Tokyo, Japan to report the marking of Nakamura to NXT formally. Nakamura Shinsuke made his NXT debut in 2016 and beat Sami Zayn in his first match at NXT TakeOver. On August 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Nakamura beat Samoa Joe to come out on top for the NXT Title for the first time ever. Following four months Nakamura lost the title to Joe in his first championship defense match which was his first loss at NXT. On the December 28 episode of NXT from Osaka, Japan, Nakamura beat Samoa Joe and recaptured the NXT Title.
US Title
Nakamura's first title shot came after he won the Royal Rumble in 2018. He got a chance to win the WWE title against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34 but failed to win it. Nakamura got several title shots against AJ Styles at Greatest Royal Rumble, Backlash, and Money in the Bank but failed to succeed. In 2018 Nakamura returned to WWE at Extreme Rules and faced Jeff Hardy for the WWE title and bagged it successfully, marking his first main roster championship win. On December 2018 Nakamura lost the title against Rusev at SmackDown which ended his 156 days title reign. At Royal Rumble 2019 Nakamura beat Rusev to recapture the US title for the second time which he lost to R-Truth after two days at SmackDown Live.
Intercontinental Title
At Extreme Rules 2019 Nakamura beat Finn Balor to his first Intercontinental Title. With this win he became the second man after Chris Jericho to hold the IWGP and WWE Intercontinental titles together and the first Asian grappler to win those titles. In January 2020 Nakamura lost the title to Braun Strowman at SmackDown and his reign of 201 days came to an end.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
At The Horror Show at Extreme Rules on July 2020 Nakamura and Cesaro teamed up against Kofi Kingston and Big E in a tables for the SmackDown tag team title and won it successfully, marking his first-ever tag team title win at WWE. In August 2021 Nakamura beat Apollo Crews at SmackDown to win his second Intercontinental title. In February 2022 Nakamura lost the title to Sami Zayn at SmackDown and his 189 days title reign was ended.
| Title | No of times |
| NXT Championship | 2 times |
| WWE Intercontinental Championship | 2 times |
| WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship | 1 time |
| WWE United States Championship | 2 times |
Also Read: Who is Shinsuke Nakamura married to?
FAQs
A. No, Nakamura hasn’t won the Universal Title yet.
A. Antonio Cesaro was Nakamura’s partner for the SmackDown tag team title.
A. Nakamura won IWGP Heavyweight Championship 3 times.
A. Nakamura made his NXT debut in 2016.
A. Nakamura won his first Intercontinental title at Extreme Rules.
A. While Shinsuke Nakamura had won the IWGP Championship thrice in NJPW, he is yet to win a world championship in WWE.
