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WWE Announces Shinsuke Nakamura Signing Officially (Spoiler On First Match)

By John Canton • Published 28th January 2016
TJR Wrestling

After nearly a month of rumors that were pretty much known to be true without confirmation, the news is official: Japanese wrestling sensation Shinsuke Nakamura is coming to World Wrestling Entertainment.

It was officially announced on WWE.com on Wednesday night. Here’s an excerpt of their article.

At Wednesday night’s NXT taping at Full Sail University in Orlando, Fla., a video announcing the impending arrival of the Japanese standout played for the live crowd, sending shockwaves through the arena and, moments later, the social media world.

Nakamura, a 14-year veteran of the squared circle, has been a leading star in the New Japan promotion since 2002. Renowned for his striking and submission ability, as well as his unorthodox charisma, Nakamura’s devastating Bomaye knee strike has felled many opponents and his smash mouth style has earned him the nickname The King of Strong Style. A three-time IWGP Champion — the same once title held by the likes of Vader, The Great Muta and AJ Styles — Nakamura is the youngest competitor to win that championship, capturing it for the first time at 23. He has taken on a who’s who of the best grapplers in the world in his career, facing the likes of Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, Hideo Itami, WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom and The Beast Incarnate himself, Brock Lesnar.

Here’s a tweet sent out from the @WWENXT Twitter account that was shown at the tapings tonight.

Who will he face in that first match? At the tapings tonight, it was announced it would be against Sami Zayn at the NXT Takeover event in Dallas on April 1.

Analysis: It’s nice that it is finally official. AJ Styles debuted on Sunday at the Royal Rumble and in this case, WWE isn’t going to make it a total surprise. They’ve announced Nakamura’s impending arrival while likely building him up as a big deal.

The match with Zayn on April 1 should be absolutely incredible. I plan on being in Dallas for WrestleMania weekend. I don’t have tickets to that NXT show yet, but I will damn sure try to make it there.

If you’ve never seen Nakamura wrestle, trust me when I tell you that he’ll fit in very well in WWE. He’s one of the most charismatic wrestlers of this era and as long as they let him be himself he will thrive. He can have a great match with any kind of wrestler too. Believe the hype.