Shinsuke Nakamura Reveals Why He Left NJPW For WWE
Shinsuke Nakamura was interviewed by Lillian Garcia at the Ace Comic Con and was heavily applauded for his achievements so far since joining the company. Garcia put over the fact that he won the NXT Championship just four months after joining the company, won his first-ever Royal Rumble match, and went to compete against AJ Styles in the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 34, which was also his first-ever.
Garcia asked Nakamura if coming to WWE was always a goal of his, which he responded no. Nakamura then went into detail of why he decided to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling to sign with WWE.
"In Japan, I thought I accomplished everything," said Nakamura. "So, I tried other things. So, then in 2015, [I thought], what should I do next? At the time, my friend, who works in WWE, called me. Probably it's time to challenge next. Then I [decided to join WWE]. So, I didn't follow the WWE history, but I knew big names like Andre the Giant [and] Hulk Hogan, because they wrestled in Japan. When I was a kid, [it was] hard to watch WWE, because I needed to go to [the] video shop, [but] I didn't have any money."
Nakamura added that he did not do any research about WWE before he signed, because he wanted to feel the element of surprise regarding how the company is.
Since joining WWE, Nakamura stated that he is surprised at what he has witnessed, mainly because he is used to the style of New Japan and the indies including a lot of "dangerous moves." Instead, WWE "tries to keep simple," and is much different than other companies.
Regarding his series with AJ Styles, Nakamura admitted that both he and Styles were nervous at WrestleMania 34 since it was such a big stage. However, he went on to say that as they started to compete in more matches against each other, the matches started to become good. He also showed his interest in competing against Styles again, because he knows that their matches will get better and better.
If any portion of these quotes are used, please be sure to credit the Ace Comic Con with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Ace Comic Con