Shinsuke Nakamura's rare matches outside WWE you might have not seen (with videos)

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Wrestle Kingdom 7

During his early years, Nakamura did some training in MMA and actually finished with a 3-1 record in that sport. But in pro wrestling, he faced his most dangerous ‘legit’ fighter ever at Wrestle Kingdom 7: Kazushi Sakuraba, also known as the ‘Gracie Hunter’ for his legendary bouts with four members of the Gracie Family who are considered royalty in Mixed Martial Arts.

Although the match started off rather slowly, it kicked into high gear after about five minutes. After that, it transitioned into a phenomenal match that brought the crowd alive. Featuring extremely stiff strikes, realistic MMA-based submission holds and a wildly hot crowd, Nakamura managed to defeat one of Japan’s biggest MMA names and further cement himself as one of that country’s biggest athletic stars of any kind.