6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (22 August - Results & Review)

2. Let Shinsuke Speak

After six years of being largely misused in WWE, fans are finally getting a glimpse of the version of Shinsuke Nakamura they could have had the entire time.

And all they needed to do, apparently, was let Shinsuke speak. In his native tongue.

Nakamura cut a pre-recorded promo in Japanese Monday, explaining his feud with Seth Rollins and what he whispered in his ear last week. The King of Strong Style said he told the World Heavyweight Champion that he knows his weakness: his back.

Shinsuke went on to talk about how Seth lives in pain due to an injured back that has only gotten worse over time, how his body has crumbled, and how he was going to capitalize on it. The promo was fairly simple in one sense, but Nakamura’s delivery – coupled with the captions – gave viewers the full context and a complete picture of what the challenger is all about. He looked more like a threat than he has in quite some time, something we never would have gotten through in-ring antics.

Nope, just let him speak and let Shinsuke’s natural charisma (and captions) sell fans on the feud.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.