I know, how dare this dork not care about Nakamura winning the WWE title at WrestleMania?
Well, I am a dork. A wrestling dork. A movie dork. I bring up movies and wrestling because they essentially follow the same path when it comes to storytelling. Going through a journey with a complex character in a fascinating world is what movies and wrestling are about when it comes to telling a story.
The problem is, Who is Shinsuke Nakamura?
Based on his main roster character, he’s an “artist” who likes to dance and make weird hand gestures. The homeless man down my block likes to dance and make weird hand gestures too. I guess he should be WWE champion as well. Nakamura’s character is not compelling. That’s creative’s fault, not Nakamura’s.
I know who Shinsuke Nakamura. I’ve followed most of his New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor career. I know how amazingly talented and charismatic he is. But I find myself having to explain why Nakamura is awesome to strictly WWE fans. It shouldn’t be that way. I shouldn’t have to
bound and gag show my wrestling friends Nakamura’s greatest hits to prove why he’s great.
I understand that WWE has to deal with Nakamura’s language barrier. However, Nakamura doesn’t need to cut twenty minute promos to convey emotion to get across who he is. Who is Shinsuke Nakamura? Why does he want to be WWE Champion? Or Hell, is he even a babyface? We’re told that Reigns is a babyface, but he acts like a self-entitled jerk who calls himself big dog every week. Or Braun Strowman likes to commit attempted murders every once in a while. Nakamura could be a heel for all I know.
WWE believes that Nakmaura winning 80% of his matches will get the fans on his side, but that’s counterproductive. The protagonist should always struggle along the way through their journey. It engrosses us fans to that character even more.
Johnny Gargano is currently the best babyface in the WWE. Hell, maybe in all of wrestling. The kid was backstabbed by his tag team partner, and struggled along the way to even get a title shot at Takeover: Philadelphia. Fans want to see him win the big one because they can relate to his pain. Plus Gargano comes across as a nice guy. Many other wrestlers went through this process with success. Austin, Bret Hart, NXT Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, just to name a few.
It also doesn’t help that WWE has restricted Nakamura’s moveset to the point where he doesn’t stand out as special.
Is it too late for the fans to get emotionally invested in Nakamura by WrestleMania? Yes and No. Nakamura can’t struggle through the art of storytelling during his build with AJ, but WWE can find ways to develop his character.
Again, he doesn’t need to cut a twenty minute promo every week nor should he. NXT does fantastic documentaries on who their wrestlers are. Check out the fantastic doc on Roderick Strong below. WWE would be wise to take this approach with him.
Also, it would be nice if they would stop restricting Nakamura’s moveset. His most memorable match in WWE remains his debut against Sami Zayn because Nakamura was being Nakamura. Showing that Nakamura is more than just dance moves and a fancy entrance would help.
WWE’s approach to Nakamura lately seems to be hiding him, but that’s a mistake. I hope this isn’t a route they continue forward with. AJ/Nakamura should be an excellent match regardless of the build. Both wrestlers are master storytellers in the ring. Now just imagine how better the match would be if you were actually invested in Nakamura’s character.