10 Reasons Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Run Will Fail

7. Script Error

Shinsuke Nakamura Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Nakamura's impressive-but-broken English was a joy to behold on NXT.

Required to slip into the back and forth rhythms of WWE's stoic promo style in order to effectively season him for the main roster, he put on a charming but ultra-confident front, shielding any linguistic deficiencies with his enigmatic glow.

This was perhaps best exhibited in his showdown with a soon-to-be-departing Finn Balor. With Full Sail University hanging on his every word, he deliberately held back on his killer line, addressing 'The Demon' as the 'Icon' he had to beat to become one himself.

Much like his guarded threat to Sami Zayn earlier in the year, it was a pitch-perfect presentation that didn't rob an ounce of cool from 'The King of Strong Style'.

His scripting on the main show has been utterly abysmal, and again left him completely exposed less than a full month on from his in-ring debut.

Forced into reciting decrepit dialogue that didn't remotely suit his character, Nakamura uttered nonsense about the ring being his 'playground', stripping just about every bizarrely relatable quality of his act away and leaving behind the vaunted model of a homogonised WWE superstar. That he has to spit the words out from behind his gum shield is even more ludicrous.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett