What’s the story?
Shinsuke Nakamura got to celebrate his birthday in the ring at an NXT Live Event in Miami, Florida, on Friday.
After teaming with Kassius Ohno to defeat members of Sanity, Nakamura came down to help Tye Dillinger, who was getting beaten down by Eric Young after losing to NXT Champion Bobby Roode. Dillinger then got the microphone to tell the crowd that it was Nakamura’s birthday and said he had gotten the 37-year-old Japanese star a cake, but trainer Matt Bloom ate it all.
Then Dillinger led the crowd and several superstars, including Ohno, in singing “Happy Birthday” to Nakamura.
In case you didn’t know...
Nakamura has been one of NXT’s most popular superstars since his debut match at NXT Takeover: Dallas last April against Sami Zayn, a classic won by Nakamura. SInce then, he’s held the NXT Championship twice, most recently losing it to Roode at NXT Takeover: San Antonio in January.
Nakamura won multiple titles in Japan, including three reigns as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and he was named NXT Male Competitor of the Year and Overall Competitor of the Year in 2016.
The heart of the matter
This is the type of fun moment that can happen at house shows, particularly with NXT. The fans of the yellow brand get extremely attached to their wrestlers, as was evident in the past with Zayn and Bayley and now with Dillinger and Nakamura.
As such, it’s no surprise that these two could pull off such a light-hearted moment in a memorable way.
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Nakamura’s birthday is as good a time as any to point out that his much-anticipated main roster debut needs to happen soon. At 37, he’s actually a few weeks older than main roster veteran Randy Orton, who turns 37 on April 1.
That debut seems to be coming soon, as Nakamura himself recently said that he’d like to face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33. According to the Internet Wrestling Database, the two met five times in New Japan Pro Wrestling, with only one of those matches being a singles match. That match was Styles’ last one-on-one tilt in Japan, and Nakamura won to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
If that match doesn’t happen, there have also been rumors that Nakamura could be part of the always-huge Monday Night RAW the night after WrestleMania. Either way, his debut on the main roster needs to happen soon for the sake of the fans and the “King of Strong Style” himself.
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