Is Shinsuke Nakamura on the brink of retirement?
This has been the question amongst fans since he put out a tweet that strongly suggested that his days as an active wrestler could be coming to an end soon.
That’s not necessarily the case. While it’s questionable whether Nakamura will be here ten years from now, he’s not planning to hang up the boots anytime soon.
“Fortunately, I haven’t had many injuries, so it’s not right away, but there’s no such thing as forever,” Nakamura said to Tokyo Sports. “If you ask me about the next ten years, I have my doubts, but if you ask me about five years, maybe.”
Nakamura has one goal left in WWE - to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Nakamura is a former two-time NXT Champion. He has also won both the Intercontinental and United States titles, and he’s even a 2018 Royal Rumble winner. But a world championship on the main roster has eluded his grasp. He believes that he can become a world champion and this is an important goal that represents Japanese wrestlers.
“I believe in it, so I keep going. That’s the World Heavyweight Championship. I just want to win that,” Nakamura said. “For Japanese wrestlers on this American stage, especially the men, that’s the barrier we haven’t broken through yet
“I don’t know if it’s proof or anything, but I sometimes wonder what would happen if I couldn’t do it. I hope I can leave some kind of path, or hope, for the next generation of Japanese and Asian people.”
It would be cool if WWE gave Nakamura a world title run. Honestly, he should’ve beaten AJ for the belt after he turned heel at WrestleMania 34 because he was on a roll following that match.
These days, WWE just doesn’t seem to know what to do with him. He was one of the first challengers for Seth Rollins’ world title back in 2023, but he failed to win. There seemed to be a change in direction for him late last year when Nakamura returned with a new character and beat LA Knight in dominant fashion.
Unfortunately, WWE simply did nothing with his new character and his U.S. run was ultimately a bust. Nakamura has all the tools to be a top champion (except long winded promo skills), but it doesn't seem that WWE is interested in entertaining such a route.