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When Shinsuke Nakamura started his main roster run back in 2017, just two nights after WrestleMania 33 on SmackDown Live, many of us couldn't wait to see him have epic dream matches with guys like John Cena, AJ Styles and Randy Orton. It seems, though, that our expectations weren't exactly matched, at least for 2017.
His debut feud was with Dolph Ziggler in a 2-month rivalry where he struggled to win and then went ahead to challenge for the WWE Championship. He then lost both matches against Jinder Mahal, killing whatever momentum he had while coming up from NXT.
Things started to look good for Nakamura again though when he won the 2018 Royal Rumble match. This allowed him to challenge for the WWE Championship once again and also gave him the chance to relive one of the greatest matches he ever produced back in NJPW against AJ Styles.
When WrestleMania came around, hopes were once again shattered, as the match was watered down and never delivered as expected. After Mania, he lost in 3 straight pay-per-view matches with different stipulations.
Fans were already starting to complain about the state of the Japanese Superstar in the WWE, so the company decided to give him a run as the US Champion for his services, along with a new gimmick (The United States of Nakamerica). He held the title until the end of the year and then lost it on Christmas Day after his feud with Rusev on SmackDown Live.
A few days ago at the 2019 Royal Rumble pre-show, he reclaimed the US title and lost it again 2 days later on SmackDown in a match against R-Truth.
With the rumor that Nakamura's contract is expiring, we can only assume that he has set his sight elsewhere. Nakamura was a megastar on NXT and a force to be reckoned on NJPW, yet on the WWE main roster he was a mistreated novelty act and never reached his full potential.
The “King of Strong Style” would be welcomed as a legend back to Japan, as he would be treated with respect and certainly become IWGP Champion once again. But, if he still wants to live the American dream, with AEW now in town as a new promotion, offering creative freedom and equal payment, he certainly does have an excellent option on the table.
