Shinsuke Nakamura was built up as a killer in the ring by WWE CCO Triple H and the creative team earlier this year as he targeted Cody Rhodes. The two feuded with one another before The American Nightmare went on to win the 2024 Royal Rumble and entered a WrestleMania program with The Bloodline.
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Once a promising act, Nakamura has floundered for much of his career in WWE. Wrestling veteran Konnan expressed sadness at how the company destroyed the 2018 Royal Rumble winner.
Speaking on his podcast Keepin' It 100 OFFICIAL, Konnan brought up Vince Russo's recent claims that WWE building up Bronson Reed is pointless. Russo believes it won't be any different from what they did with The Artist. Konnan echoed this sentiment:
"Nakamura was very disappointing for me personally, because he was one of my favorite wrestlers," Konnan revealed. "When I last saw New Japan, after like, Nakamura, I tuned out. I liked him a lot. I think [the WWE] did a great job at resuscitating him. And then they did nothing with him." [From 1:48 onwards]
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Shinsuke Nakamura was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2024 Draft. He joined several wrestlers for the company's recent Berlin tour. Whether The Artist is brought back for a significant program on television bears watching.
Former WWE star EC3 looks back at Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in 2023
Before Cody Rhodes feuded with Shinsuke Nakamura, the Japanese star was involved in a program with Seth "Freakin" Rollins, who was at the time, the World Heavyweight Champion. They put on two PLE contests, one at Payback and the other at Fastlane.
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EC3 felt that there was a "lapse in creative" with regard to Seth Rollins and how the latter performed against The Artist. He pointed to how there was a short-term angle in which Nakamura was targeting The Visionary's injured back. However, Rollins did not sell the injury:
"He [Nakamura] made the big heel turn and he destroyed Rollins' back with the chair, I think, but then they had a match and then the next day Rollins came out, singing and dancing like usual, not putting over the injury. That's just lapses in creative," EC3 said.
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Here's a pre-match anime promo from Shinsuke Nakamura during their rivalry:
Despite strong backing from the WWE Universe, Shinsuke Nakamura failed multiple times to dethrone Seth Rollins. Nakamura remains a favorite in the eyes of many fans.
If you use any of the quotes, please credit the original source and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
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About the author
Joel Varughese
Joel has been a WWE news writer at Sportskeeda for the last 2 years. Always having a penchant for writing, he worked as an independent screenwriter and a copy/content writer for almost 2 years before joining Sportskeeda.
Joel’s pro-wrestling knowledge comes from hours of watching it from a young age. His favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels, but if he could go back in time to The Attitude Era, he would like to manage Chris Jericho and advise him to cut his hair and portray a character similar to Javier Bardem in the movie “No Country for Old Men,” something which Jericho later pulled off in 2008.
Besides Michaels, Joel is also a fan of Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Edge, CM Punk, and Brock Lesnar. His current favorites are Roman Reigns, Gunther, and Drew McIntyre.
Joel is a team man and works closely with his colleagues, conducts thorough research, and only relies on top pro-wrestling sources for information. His well-researched news reports have received close to 10 million reads till date.
When not following pro wrestling, Joel can be found designing built spaces, auditioning for films, working out, spending time with family and watching movies.
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