10 Reasons Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE Run Will Fail

5. Suitable Competition

Shinsuke Nakamura Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Not least because they've already burned through matches against Kevin Owens and his historic on-screen reunion with AJ Styles, SmackDown Live! already looks brutally thin on the ground for talent Nakamura can feasibly feud with to generate creatively stimulating and commercially viable matches.

The narrow parameters from which WWE seem insistent on forcing their performers into may be just too oppressive for Shinsuke. He's an undeniably charismatic performer, but unlike fellow New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni AJ Styles, he doesn't possess the jaw-dropping range and lucid variation to stretch the company's formulaic designs.

It's tough to see Nakamura having a truly great match with Baron Corbin for example, or WWE Champion Jinder Mahal should the two ever compete for the company's once-biggest prize. On the scant evidence provided, it's hard to foresee a NXT TakeOver: Dallas rematch with Sami Zayn coming anywhere close to the original once the usual crop of cooks pile in to spoil the broth.

Booked as a delicately deadly destroyer in New Japan, Nakamura has been forced into more of a traditional WWE babyface role even during his time in NXT, but matches on defence against Bobby Roode still hugely outperformed the similar story he attempted to tell alongside Dolph Ziggler.

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