Major update on former Intercontinental Champion heading back to NJPW once his WWE contract expires

Shinsuke Nakamura almost had a 15-year-long tenure in NJPW.

Major update on former Intercontinental Champion heading back to NJPW once his WWE contract expires

Shinsuke Nakamura WWE contract expiring? [via- Cageside Seats]

WWE is in the midst of a contract renewal spree, with the likes of Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor recently signing new deals with the company. However, there’s one such veteran who goes by the name Shinsuke Nakamura, who’s supposedly at the dusk of his WWE career. There’s no word on how much time he has left in the Stamford-based promotion. However, an update has emerged regarding his potential switch to NJPW.

Dave Meltzer spoke about Shin’s current standing with WWE at length on Wrestling Observer Radio. The seasoned wrestling journalist wasn’t too optimistic about whether the Japanese wrestler would head back to his ancient roots in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Dave added that Nakamura likes residing in the United States.

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Meltzer also relayed that NJPW was indeed interested in luring The King of Strong Style to their company back when the 44-year-old’s WWE contract expired last time. However, he didn’t head back. Moreover, Shinsuke Nakamura allegedly signed an extension with WWE in August 2021, but it’s under wraps as to how long the deal was. Dave also underscored the pay dichotomy that the two companies bring about.

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On the one hand, WWE contracts have witnessed a financial uptick, while those in NJPW have remained stagnant. Some would argue that the Kyoto-born wrestler experienced his heyday in the Antonio Inoki-founded promotion.

In WWE, he excelled in NXT and received a significant push on the main roster in 2018. He kicked off the year with a bang, winning the Men’s Royal Rumble match. However, he couldn’t keep pace with his former NJPW wrestling soulmate, AJ Styles, at WrestleMania 34.

Can SmackDown move stage a renaissance in Shinsuke Nakamura’s WWE career?

It might be a far-fetched dream that Shinsuke Nakamura would ever win a World Championship in WWE. He’s already halfway in his 40s, and his in-ring work rate has deteriorated by a fair margin over the past year or so.

Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura (via WWE)

Nonetheless, Shin’s up for a new beginning on SmackDown. During this year’s WWE Draft, the former 2-time Intercontinental Champion was picked up by the blue brand. It would be interesting to see how big of an impact the brand swap turns out to be.

Late last year, Nakamura kicked-off a rivalry with Cody Rhodes, which many believe was some of the best work he’s put in his entire career. Despite the former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion’s obsession with precluding Rhodes from finishing his story, Shinsuke dropped the ball.

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