10 Best WWE Debuts Of The 2010s
9. Shinsuke Nakamura
NXT TakeOver: Dallas was a good night for debuts.
Not only did Bobby Roode start the tradition of the one-man NXT kiss-cam, but we also saw the debut matches of two top independent stars. One of which was Austin Aries (the less said about his WWE career, the better) and the other was The King of Strong Style, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura had been signed from New Japan in early 2016 and made his presence felt in NXT in the lead up to TakeOver: Dallas.
Nakamura was announced as NXT's latest signing by William Regal and appeared at Full Sail via video to confront Sami Zayn. Both men were positioned as huge babyfaces, which only heightened anticipation for this marquee match.
Right from the beginning, Nakamura had the crowd in the palm of his hand. His incredible entrance was followed up by an outstanding match which made both men look like absolute stars.
Nakamura wowed the NXT audience, bringing strong style to WWE for the first time. This match would be the launchpad for an incredible career, which saw Nakamura win the NXT Championship twice.
The first match in WWE to receive the "Fight Forever" chant, Nakamura's debut did exactly what it needed to do - show off what an incredible wrestler he is.