10 Best NJPW Wrestlers In WWE

5. Shinsuke Nakamura

AJ Styles IWGP Heavyweight Champion
IWGP

'The King Of Strong Style' was never the undisputed top guy in New Japan. He was a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but was always positioned just below Hiroshi Tanahashi. Nakamura was the 1B to the legendary headliner's 1A, and while immensely popular, he never truly threatened his peer's status as the company ace.

Despite this, his IWGP Intercontinental Title run was tremendous. Nak raised the secondary belt's prestige to such a level that fans voted it headline Wrestle Kingdom 8 over Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada's IWGP Heavyweight Championship match (which, admittedly, had much to do with Naito's failings as a babyface). This marks him as a tremendous New Japan success, but rating his WWE run is hard.

Shinsuke's first WWE match (vs. Sami Zayn, TakeOver: Dallas) remains his best. The Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe feuds were solid, with each delivering several good-to-great bouts, but he has suffered from inconsistent main roster booking. That being said, winning the Royal Rumble was a huge honour, and there's now a strong chance Nakamura will leave WrestleMania 34 with the WWE Championship, propelling him up this list.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.