Predicting The Future Of 10 NXT Stars

by Andrew Soucek

1. Shinsuke Nakamura

shinsuke nakamura
WWE.com

We’ve discussed NXT Japanese wrestlers Hideo Itami and Asuka so far and tried to predict their future in WWE, but Nakamura is very likely to do the best of the three over the next few years.

While Nakamura hasn’t delivered a killer promo in NXT, he oozes charisma in a way very few wrestlers on the planet do. Even if Vince McMahon doesn’t “get” the act, he’ll have to appreciate the crowd reactions he's likely to receive. Much like A.J. Styles and Kevin Owens, fans are going to latch onto him in a big way when he gets the call up. Seeing him in a main roster WWE ring will be a surreal sight, and hopefully the beginning of huge things for him.

Also working for Nakamura is WWE’s expansion into Japan. He’s already a major name in his home country, and could help increase Network subscriptions with a legitimate push. There are tons of passionate wrestling fans there, and in order to keep Wall Street happy, the company needs to reach out to new markets in an effective way. Basically, their time of treating Japanese wrestlers as bad comedy acts is over.

Official prediction: Nakamura is called up to SmackDown right after Mania, and becomes the first Japanese wrestler to win the World Heavyweight Title...in two years.

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Contributor

As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at." Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week. Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com