Last week, WWE released more than a dozen main roster and NXT stars. This weekend, rumours have swirled that former United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura might be among them; images of him listed on the "Alumni" section of WWE.com have even done the rounds on social media.
Despite that, the King of Strong Style is, in fact, still listed as an active Superstar on the company's website and has not been released, despite repeated claims to the contrary.
Now, it's possible WWE isn't planning to renew Nakamura's contract; earlier this year, it was reported that WWE management was "moving on" from him, suggesting his days in the company might be numbered. Nakamura was repackaged with a new heel gimmick not too long ago (which didn't hugely connect with fans), and briefly held the United States Championship.
Despite that, he didn't get a match at WrestleMania, and his last major television appearance was on the March 7 episode of SmackDown when he lost the title to LA Knight.
Nakamura later made a very brief appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the SmackDown before WrestleMania. So, even though he hasn't been released yet, it does rather feel like the former NXT Champion's days in WWE are numbered.
This comes after it was reported that the main reason for Braun Strowman's release was a pricey contract that WWE no longer felt was worth its while.
"He is the one that the salary was high," Dave Meltzer recently said of the Monster Among Men. "One person told me that they felt he was being...he was paid more than how they were using him, I guess is the best way to put it, but salary played a part in this."
Could the same be true for Nakamura? We'll see, but last summer, he expressed a desire to bring more of his Japanese Strong Style to WWE.
"Oh, yeah. So I've been wrestling over eight years right now. So I want to keep wrestling in WWE," he started. "Also, I give the fans more like a dream. So that's what I want to do. So I want to show my passion. So also I brought the Japanese style to WWE, but still I think not accomplished. So still I'm challenging, keep challenging."
We'll see what happens, but chances are Nakamura would either begin wrestling in Japan again or perhaps even consider signing with AEW. As always, keep checking back here for updates as we have them.