5 NJPW Feuds Shinsuke Nakamura Could Walk Into Right Now

3. Jay White

Chris Jericho Shinsuke Nakamura
NJPW

Jay White is currently the hottest heel sporting red and black in the wrestling world. Hated more than SmackDown Live! sh*thouse Shinsuke, the 'Switchblade' emerged from a United States title loss to Juice Robinson with more villainous momentum than he'd ever had since lifting the strap from Kenny Omega earlier this year. A G1 run has solidified his status as an upper midcarder in NJPW, with pins over Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada both statements of intent from bookers about his future.

A babyface Nakamura returning to put the upstart in his place would represent both an intriguing in-road back into NJPW for the 'King Of Strong Style' as well as yet another significant scalp for the still-rising New Zealand star. Not least because the two could almost certainly offer up a contest each man could do with in 2019.

White's truly fantastic matches are mostly rule-proving exceptions thus far, too. If he can endure a festival of violence at the fists and feet of a furious former Intercontinental Champion, he'll have earned respect even if he takes a low road (and perhaps Shinsuke's WWE-flavoured low blow) in victory.

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