What's the story?
It was an emotional night inside Full Sail Arena as Shinsuke Nakamura came out to bid farewell to the NXT faithful.
In case you didn't know...
Shinsuke Nakamura officially signed with the WWE and made his NXT debut at Takeover: Dallas. Prior to making the jump to NXT, the King of Strong Style was a highly sought after star with New Japan Pro Wrestling and won the top prize in NJPW, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, three different times.
Since arriving in NXT, Nakamura has captured the NXT Championship two times.
The entire #NXT roster, along with @FinnBalor & @TripleH say farewell to @ShinsukeN tonight pic.twitter.com/q2unmv9ftk
— Will Henderson (@willh94) April 6, 2017
The heart of the matter
During one particular segment of the April 5, 2017, NXT tapings, Shinsuke Nakamura made his way to the ring in front of a very appreciative Full Sail crowd. During the segment, Nakamura mentioned that he came to NXT as an already experienced professional wrestler, but wanted to challenge himself against the very best in the world. Shinsuke went on to say that NXT is its own brand and creates something new and different for the fans.
Also read: Who was the violinist during Shinsuke Nakamura’s iconic entrance on SmackDown LIVE
Nakamura ended the in-ring promo by saying that he would always be NXT.
The segment concluded with the entire roster coming out to the entrance ramp. As the King of Strong Style made his way up the ramp, William Regal, Finn Balor and Triple H also came out. Nakamura then filmed the arena with his phone before he bowed to everyone and took his leave.
What’s next?
As we now know, Shinsuke Nakamura has become the newest member of the SmackDown LIVE roster. However, now that Vince McMahon has announced the Superstar shakeup, there is a possibility that he could end up on Raw.
Author’s take
There's no question that Nakamura is one of the best signings of the past decade. What he has done in NXT in just a years time, will not even scratch the surface of what we are about to see him accomplish as a main roster WWE Superstar.
With all the recent main roster call-ups, NXT is about to undergo a new phase of its own. However, NXT fans should not be worried as the roster is stocked with exciting young talent that is ready for a chance to shine.
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