What’s the story?
The weekend of Wrestlemania 33 will mark one-year of Shinsuke Nakamura’s arrival in the WWE and the only thing on the WWE Universe’s mind is the date of his main roster debut. Nakamura has been the most dominant male talent in WWE NXT this past year and surely his call-up is just a matter of time. According to rumours on Cageside Seats, fans can expect the King of Strong Style to get called up sometime later this year.
In case you didn’t know...
The two-time NXT Champion returned to in-ring action last night on NXT with a win over TJ Perkins, the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion. It was announced that he would go on to become the #1 contender for the title at NXT Takeover: Orlando. Even though the reigning champion is Bobby Roode, Nakamura could possible face Cassius Ohno as well, since the two men are scheduled for a title match next week.
The heart of the matter
While the possibility of Nakamura turning up at the Wrestlemania show is all but negligible on account of his involvement in the title match at NXT Takeover: Orlando the day before, his main roster debut is definitely in the offing.
The three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion has reached his zenith at NXT, especially if he wins at Takeover next month and there is only one way for him to go thereafter. Nakamura’s promotion to either Raw or SmackDown is definitely on the cards with only the timeline to be determined.
Triple H, the brains behind NXT, discussed his concerns over promoting Nakamura too soon last month. According to him, coming from a different country with a language barrier, the King of Strong Style needs to be ready for TV shows like Raw or Smackdown before he can really hit the big time.
What’s next?
Just like Samoa Joe lost his title to Nakamura before making his move to Raw, we could see something similar in store for him. If Nakamura loses at NXT Takeover: Orlando, he could be headed to either one of the live brands after a sufficient gap. Or, he might stay on with NXT like Finn Balor did even though Vince McMahon felt he was ready to make the transition.
Sportskeeda’s Take
As much as Nakamura deserves to perform on the big stage on Raw or Smackdown, there is always the danger of him getting lost in the noise if he isn’t able to establish himself well. The Japenese star has attracted a massive following since his arrival in U.S.A. and it would be a shame if his career was fast-tracked for the sake of it.
If time is what’s needed for Nakamura to have a truly successful WWE career, fans would rather he make his presence felt sometime later this year instead of too soon.
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