Shinsuke Nakamura is a veteran of the pro wrestling industry with two decades of experience as an in-ring contestant. He made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling at the age of 22 and quickly went on to become one of the greatest wrestlers in the promotion's history. He won numerous championships and accolades throughout his 14-year stint with NJPW and gained tons of fans for himself with his unique character and in-ring talent.
The WWE Universe might be used to seeing Nakamura as a mid-card performer, but NJPW was the birthplace of the King of Strong Style, and here are ten things WWE fans should know about Shinsuke Nakamura's time in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
10 Made His Debut in 2002
Shinsuke Nakamura made his pro wrestling debut at the age of 22 at the NJPW Cross Road event on 29 August 2002. He showcased a unique combination of strength, speed, and technical skills during his early days in NJPW, which earned him the admiration of both the promotion's top officials and the fans.
With his gutsy performances, Shinsuke Nakamura earned himself the name Super Rookie. Alongside fellow rookies in Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata, Nakamura became one of the New Three Musketeers in NJPW. He also trained in MMA during his early days in NJPW, had five fights between December 2002 and May 2004 and has a career record of 3-1-1.
9 He's The Youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Shinsuke Nakamura didn't take too long to cement his legacy in New Japan Pro Wrestling history as he went on to become the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history. He defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan at the 2003 NJPW Battle Final event to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and was only 23 years old when he accomplished the feat.
He also unified the title with the National Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship by defeating Yoshihiro Takayama at the 2004 NJPW Wrestling World Event. However, he couldn't hold on to the titles for long as injuries forced him to vacate the title a month later.
8 Led Several Factions
In September 2006, Shinsuke Nakamura joined Masahiro Chono's Black New Japan faction. The prime motto of the group was to take over NJPW with Chono as the President and Nakamura as the "Ace." Nakamura was part of the group until he got injured in the semi-final of the 2007 G1 Climax tournament, which took him out for several months. Following his return in November 2007, Nakamura took over the leadership of the group from Chono and reformed it under the new name Rise.
However, Nakamura turned heel in April 2009 and left Rise to create another faction named Chaos. Nakamura led the group until 2016 before leaving for WWE.
7 Credited As The Greatest IWGP Intercontinental Champion
After NJPW introduced the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in 2011, MVP became the inaugural champion after winning a tournament. However, the title remained an unimportant mid-card title throughout MVP's run and the following reigns of Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Goto.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Goto to win the title for the first time at the NJPW 40th Anniversary Tour Kizuna Road event in July 2012. He raised the importance of the title and held the title for an impressive 313 days. He's held the title five times throughout his time in NJPW, and the fans credit Nakamura to this date as the greatest IWGP Intercontinental Champion of all time.
6 Defeated Kurt Angle In A Championship Unification Match
Shinsuke Nakamura has faced several former and future WWE Superstars throughout his time in NJPW, and one such superstar he competed against was the Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle.
He took on Angle in a championship unification match at the NJPW Circuit 2008 NEW JAPAN ISM event on February 17, 2008. He defeated the WWE Hall of Famer to unify the Inoki Genome Federation's version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with his NJPW version of the title. Along with a singles match, Nakamura has also worked together with Kurt Angle in a tag team match against AJ Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi in a winning effort at the NJPW G1 Climax 2008, Heroes of Supremacy event in August 2008.
5 Worked With Brock Lesnar
Another former WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura worked with in NJPW was the Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar. After leaving WWE in 2004, Brock Lesnar signed with NJPW and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut match in October 2005.
Lesnar's first title defense was against Shinsuke Nakamura at the NJPW Toukon Shidou Chapter I event in January 2006. Despite his best efforts, Nakamura couldn't overcome Brock Lesnar and lost the match. Nakamura and Lesnar also worked as a team at the NJPW Circuit Acceleration event in February 2006 to defeat the team of Akebono and Riki Choshu.
4 Almost Made His WWE Debut In 2006
After working with Brock Lesnar in 2006, Shinsuke Nakamura departed NJPW to go on a learning excursion to improve his wrestling skills. He traveled to Mexico, Brazil, Russia, and the United States. He also became good friends with Brock Lesnar and trained in his personal gym to increase his muscle mass. Then NJPW President Simon Inoki suggested that Nakamura would be loaned to WWE to help him get exposure working in large American shows. Nakamura also competed in Impact Wrestling during the tour.
However, it never came to fruition as NJPW had to call Nakamura back after Brock Lesnar left the promotion by holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship hostage.
3 Had A Fierce Rivalry With Hiroshi Tanahashi
Shinsuke Nakamura and Hiroshi Tanahashi entered New Japan Pro Wrestling at the same time and grew to be two of the top wrestlers for the promotion over the years.
The two wrestlers worked as a team and held the IWGP Tag Team Championships for 323 days between December 2004 and October 2005. However, they went on to be fierce rivals and had some of the highest-rated matches in the promotion's history. Nakamura won his second IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Tanahashi and had several matches with him over the title throughout their time together in NJPW.
2 Won The G1 Climax, G1 Tag League & NJPW Cup Tournaments
During his time in NJPW, Shinsuke Nakamura has competed in the G1 Climax tournament on multiple occasions. He first entered the tournament in 2003 but couldn't go on to win it, and the same trend continued for the next seven years until he finally won the tournament in 2011 by defeating Tetsuya Naito in the final.
He also won the G1 Tag League tournament in 2006 alongside his partner Masahiro Chono by defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi and Koji Kanemoto in the final. Nakamura also won the 2014 New Japan Cup tournament by defeating Davey Boy Smith Jr, Finn Balor, and Minoru Suzuki in the initial rounds before defeating Bad Luck Fale in the final.
1 Has Wrestled 1273 Matches For NJPW
As said earlier, Shinsuke Nakamura was one of the high-profile stars in New Japan Pro Wrestling throughout his time with the promotion. With such star power, the company used the King of Strong Style to his full potential resulting in him competing in an impressive 1273 matches throughout his 14-year run with the NJPW.
Out of the 1273 matches, Nakamura has won 720 matches, with a win percentage of 56.6%, and lost 529, while 24 matches ended without any result.