WWE News: Shinsuke Nakamura talks about retiring from wrestling

What’s the Story?

Prior to signing with WWE, Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the most talked about Professional Wrestlers in Japan. When it was announced in early 2016 that the King of Strong Style would be joining the NXT roster, it was considered as a major acquisition. However, Nakamura’s WWE run hasn’t been what many expected it to be and this has led to speculations regarding his departure and/or retirement from the Wrestling business.

In case you didn’t know…

The King of Strong Style reportedly signed a three-year deal with WWE in 2016. He spent the first one as an NXT Superstar and achieved great success on the black-and-yellow brand.

However, he stumbled a few months after being called up to the main roster post-Wrestlemania 33 in April 2017. Over the next two years, Nakamura would slowly get phased out of key story-lines. He is currently part of a faction with Rusev and Lana, a team that appears sporadically on Smackdown Live. It was speculated earlier this year that Nakamura wouldn’t extend his WWE contract after its expiration around springtime and would return to Japan.

The heart of the matter...

All rumors and speculations regarding Nakamura’s departure were shot down when the Artist reportedly inked a new deal with WWE. However, Nakamura didn’t hesitate in sharing his retirement plans when he talked to The Straits Times and revealed that he plans to walk into the sunset once he turns 45. He explained in the following words (thanks to Fightful for the transcription):

I want to wrestle at least five more years. I’m 39 now. (Former MLB) baseball player Ichiro Suzuki retired at 45 and he was such an influence for Japanese sportsmen, especially those who lived in other countries. And so I need to wrestle until I’m 45 years old.

What’s next?

Nakamura hasn’t been seen on WWE TV for over a month now and isn’t a part of any story-line. However, he is expected to participate in the 50-man Battle Royal this Friday at Super Showdown. It will be interesting to see whether he manages to find an opponent for himself during the course of the match.