10 WWE Star Making Moments That Changed Nothing
1. Shinsuke Nakamura Wins The Royal Rumble (2018)
The King of Strong Style was once considered a bit of a big deal, but you'd be forgiven for not thinking that if your only experiences of the current Intercontinental Champion have come in the last year or so.
Long before his putrid mid-card title-run on SmackDown, Nakamura was being positioned as WWE's next breakout star and his time with NXT had only highlighted just how easily he could translate his hard-hitting style over to a western audience.
Fans lapped up his ferocious matches against Sami Zayn and Finn Bálor, with his NXT title feud involving Samoa Joe also being hailed as one of the best in recent memory - before he eventually dropped the belt to Bobby Roode. His main roster debut was impending and even casual fans couldn't wait to witness the hottest act in the company ply his trade on either Raw or SmackDown.
He arrived on the blue brand by kneeing his way through Dolph Ziggler and set-up an eagerly anticipated NJPW-rematch with AJ Styles by staring down the Phenomenal One in the midst of a Money in the Bank ladder match. That dream would become a reality by the time WrestleMania 34 rolled around; with Nakamura winning the 2018 men's Royal Rumble match and choosing to face Styles for the WWE Championship at the show of shows.
'How could this not be amazing?' fans asked.
Quite easily, it turned out.
WWE opted to ground the two megastars and their subsequent feud involved more d*ck punches than 5-star classics, leaving Nakamura's WWE run wobbling. The Japanese star has since flirted with the top of the card on several occasions, but "flirted" is the key word there. Not once has Nakamura felt as important on the main roster as he did in NXT and Japan.