Cody Rhodes’ fierce rival breaks silence after winning 2023 match of the year award 

Shinsuke Nakamura shared a wholesome post on social media after his match being names as the best match of the year in 2023.

Cody Rhodes’ fierce rival breaks silence after winning 2023 match of the year award 

Cody Rhodes (via WrestleTalk)

Former Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura had a fantastic year. He was involved in great rivalries with the top stars like Gunther, and Seth Rollins. Earlier this year, he even traveled to Japan and wrestled in a few matches.

Now, his match against The Great Muta has been named Tokyo Sports 2023 best bout of the year. The King of Strong Style took to his Instagram and acknowledged this feat with a picture of him and Great Muta. It was the last match of the legendary star and fans said it was a great send-off to him.

YouTube video

He recently spoke to Tokyo Sports about not being given a proper chance to fight for the gold in recent years. however, the match against Muta gave him his deserved second chance. Then he came back to WWE and had some fantastic matches with Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title. Nakamura said it was his favorite match out of thousands of matches he wrestled in his career.

FS Video
In that sense, this year’s New Year’s Day match left behind a universal art form in pro wrestling that will never fade away. The timing, the story we followed, the content of the match…. I was able to leave behind something beautiful in many aspects, and I think it is one of the most beloved matches of my career.
Shinsuke Nakamura on his match vs Muta via Tokyo Sports.

After another failed attempt to win the gold, he started a new rivalry with Cody Rhodes. Nakamura attacked Cody from behind because he felt that his and Rhodes’ story was on the same path. His whole point behind the attack is to not let Cody complete his story, instead completes his own story by winning the Royal Rumble and eventually winning the gold. It will be interesting to see who comes out at the top as the road to WrestleMania begins.

Shinsuke Nakamura to fight in a Bull Rope at Holiday event tour

The rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura is getting personal day by day. Both superstars have the same target: to win the Royal Rumble and win the title at WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura
Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura (via WWE)

After all these attacks and promos, WWE announced Rhodes and Nakamura would fight in a rare type of stipulation, which is a Bull-rope match. The two top stars settled their rivalry inside the ring last week on Raw, but The American Nightmare was again fooled by Nakamura’s unforgiving mist.

The interesting thing is that Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes was a part of the first-ever Bull Rope match against ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham in 1978. Rhodes will be happy to continue his father’s legacy by first winning Survivor Series: WarGames, and now by winning the Bull Rope match as well. It will be interesting to see who comes out at the top and carries the momentum forward heading into the Royal Rumble match.

In case you missed it: