10 Reasons Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Run Will Fail

6. Script Error, Part 2

Shinsuke Nakamura Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

It's one thing for Nakamura to be hamstrung by his own promos, but it's quite another for writers to have no idea how best to present his opponents.

In the first tête-à-tête between Dolph Ziggler and 'The Artist', 'The Show Off' was given some appalling dialogue, in which he was forced to beat into the ground a literal comparison between SmackDown Live!'s newest acquisition and Michael Jackson.

Kevin Owens fared little better, feigning confusion with the former NXT Champion despite their relatively similar progression through WWE's ranks well known by large portions of their respective fanbases.

Again, when turning to NXT, the blueprints for heels working against the dynamic Japanese stars are there to liberally appropriate. Samoa Joe first underestimated the size of the fight within Shinsuke, then raged at his confidence and aura. Bobby Roode used his own bluster as an effort to counteract Nakamura's, gamely trying not to be thrown off by the theatre of it all.

Planted centre-ring and emotionless, the 'King of Strong Style' will look absolutely toothless trapped on the losing end of an insipid microphone war, with WWE's fickle and unforgiving crowds liable to abandon their support for him should he struggle to fight the losing battle.

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