We've made it to five!!!! Today, we look at the WWE career of one Shinsuke Nakamura. He was a big deal in NXT and found great success but questionable booking on the main roster, we must ask, has he failed or succeeded on the main roster? Let's take a look:
NXT Highlights:
- Made NXT debut at Takeover: Dallas on April 1, 2016, defeating Sami Zayn
- In June, defeated Austin Aires at Takeover: The End
- Defeated Finn Balor in July, then defeated Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship at Takeover: Brooklyn II in August
- Lost the title to Joe at Takeover: Toronto in November, making this his first televised loss in NXT
- Won the title back from Joe on NXT in Japan in December and won the rematch in a cage match in January 2017
- Lost the title to Booby Roode at Takeover: San Antonio in late January, then lost the rematch at Takeover: Orlando in April (final NXT match)
Main Roster Highlights:
- Made Smackdown debut 2 days after WrestleMania 33 in April 2017, interrupting The Miz and Maryse
- Defeated Dolph Ziggler at Backlash later that month in his Main Roster PPV debut
- Competed in the MITB match at the MITB PPV in June but did not win the briefcase
- Feuded with the MTB winner, Baron Corbin, and beat him via disqualification at the Battleground PPV in July
- Defeated John Cena on Smackdown Live on August 1 to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship, held by Jinder Mahal
- Lost WWE title match to Mahal at Summerslam in August when the Singh Bros interfered
- Defeated Randy Orton in September to earn another WWE title shot, but lost the rematch to Mahal at HIAC in October
- Was part of Team Smackdown for the men at Survivor Series in November, but was the first man on Smackdown eliminated
- Teamed with Orton and lose to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- In January 2018, teamed up with Natalya for the inaugural Mixed Match Challenge but lost to Finn Balor and Sasha Banks in the first round
- Entered the Royal Rumble in January at number 14 and won the Rumble, eliminating Roman Reigns to clinch the victory
- He challenged WWE Champion AJ Styles at WrestelMania 34 for the title but lost. After the match, he low blowed Styles, turning heel in the process
- Faced Styles at the Greatest Royal Rumble in late April, but the match ended in a double count out; Fought Styles again for the title at Backlash in May, with both men low blowing each other in a no contest result
- Chased the WWE title for the last time in a Last Man Standing Match at MITB in June, but Styles won
- Challenged for the US Title vs Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules in July and won the title, winning his first championship on the main roster; won the rematch at Summerslam in August
- Successfully defended the title vs Rusev in September and at the Crown Jewel PPV in early November
- Lost to Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins at Survivor Series in November
- Lost the US Title to Rey Mysterio on Smackdown on Christmas
- Won the title back vs Rusev at the Royal Rumble in January but lost it to R Truth on Smackdown 2 days later
- Aligned with Rusev and defeated The New Day at Fastlane (the preshow) in March
- With Rusev, competed for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles in a Fatal Four Way but lost
- In July, he defeated Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor in a non title match and won the title from Balor at Extreme Rules (preshow); this made him the second man to win both the IWGP and IC title (Chris Jericho) in a career and the first Asian-born to win the title
- Started an alliance with Sami Zayn, who helped Nakamura successfully defend the IC title vs The Miz at Clash of Champions in September
- Retained the title vs Roman Reigns in October
- Was pinned in an interbranded match at Survivor Series in November by NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong (US Champion AJ Styles was also in the match)
- Cesaro joined the alliance before the year ended
- Lost the IC title to Braun Strowman in January 2020
- Was part of a 3 on 1 handicap match for the IC title and the team defeated Strowman, with Zany walking away as the new IC Champion
Nakamura's run on the main roster has has its moments but has it been a success or a failure?
