10 Wrestlers Who Saw WWE As A Vacation

1. Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Is "Nakamura Holidays" a thing yet?

Dave Meltzer rather damningly assessed 'The King Of Strong Style's WWE run as such on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, alluding to a commonly-held belief that he was glad of the vacation in comparison to a life and career shaped by the physically demanding New Japan Pro Wrestling style.

The evidence has stacked up since his 2017 NXT departure. Nakamura's matches so often failed to inspire that he appeared uninspired himself, but was this a case of the man being only too grateful for the machine's indifference? When motivated, he's unearthed the very real 'King Of Strong Style' lurking within, but those moments have been fleeting since his rather muted call-up. A 2018 Royal Rumble win generated a dream match that begat a nightmare series with AJ Styles, whilst his demotion following multiple defeats left him looking mentally and physically feckless.

He'll turn 40 in 2020 yet he seems to really enjoy his surfing and off-time without impairment. He's yet to suffer an injury on the notoriously grinding WWE schedule. One presumes his family are chuffed to be living a comfy Orlando life too.

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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