10 Reasons Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Run Will Fail
The King Of Wrong Style.
It was yet another first pioneered by NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura arrived on the developmental brand via an intentionally grainy video message. Never had a new talent's maiden appearance been so understated. "Sami Zayn...I will see you in Dallas", uttered the 'King of Strong Style' before his face disappeared from Full Sail University's miniature TitanTron.
For those that had never experienced the enigmatic excellence of Nakamura's dynamic performances, it was an auspicious entry point, but it contrasted perfectly with the absolutely sensational presentation of his entrance at the TakeOver special. Zayn himself couldn't stifle his excitement as he patiently waited in the ring. Suppressing a wry smile, the 'Underdog From The Underground' was experiencing something special alongside the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home.
WWE documented their own roaring success with the introduction as part of a typically gripping '24' Network special. Triple H sat quietly in awe, incredulously responding to the 'holy sh*t' chants his arrival drew from the Texas faithful. Yet, despite locking the formula down from night one in NXT, the company have resolutely failed to capture lightning in a bottle upon his ascent to the main roster.
His interruption of The Miz on the post-WrestleMania edition of SmackDown Live! was unremarkable and uneventful outside of giving a WWE-only audience their first glimpse of his entrance. He's sadly been booked to underwhelm since. But how exactly are the company ruining this, and just why are they destined to continue?
10. His Debut Sucked
Across the wrestling fan populous, people broadly offered both men a wide berth in an effort to show support to both Shinsuke Nakamura and perennial online favourite Dolph Ziggler, but their Backlash opener was irrefutably a major disappointment.
Their 15 minute match failed to exhibit the best of either. Months into a tepid heel run, Ziggler has yet to find his mojo as a villain after years as a face, and struggled to generate a reaction during a lengthy portion on offence against the 'King of Strong Style'. Nakamura was equally poor at generating sympathy for the dull beating he absorbed, before just about waking the crowd up in time for his match-winning Kinshasa.
In defence of both performers, it was completely the wrong match for the task at hand. Without good context, Nakamura's matches need to be short sharp shocks of his literal greatest hits and little else. Ziggler seemed a perfect first opponent, famed more for his overzealous selling in recent years than just about any other aspect of his game.
It's a mystery why WWE felt a formula television match was instead the answer. It made Nakamura look limited in attack, and Dolph a time wasting buffoon.