Shinsuke Nakamura ( Nakamura Shinsuke, born February 24, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Before his main roster debut, Nakamura competed in WWE's NXT brand, where he is one of only two wrestlers (along with Samoa Joe) to have held the NXT Championship on more than one occasion. In January 2018, Nakamura won the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble match and later won the WWE United States Championship twice. He won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in 2019 at Extreme Rules, making him the second wrestler (behind Chris Jericho) to hold both WWE and IWGP Intercontinental Championships.
Also Read:
- WWE (wrestler) Drew McIntyre Age, Bio, Wiki, Career, and More...
- WWE Kevin Owens (Wrestler) wiki, bio, age, career and more
- WWE Ember Moon(Wrestler) Return, Wiki, Bio, Age, Husband, song, and More
- WWE The Miz (Wrestler), Wiki, WWE career, Family, Age, Bio, and More
- WWE Shinsuke Nakamura (Wrestler) WWE, Wiki, Bio, Age, Family, Career, and More
Personal Information
- Name: Shinsuke Nakamura
- Born: February 24, 1980 (age 40) Mineyama, Kyōto Prefecture, Kansai, Japan
- Residence: Orlando, Florida, United States
- Spouse: Harumi Maekawa (m. 2007)
- Nationality: Japan
Nakamura and his wife Harumi Maekawa |
Physical Appearance
- Billed Height:6.2
- Billed Weight:104 kg
- Eye Colour: Dark Brown
- Hair Colour: Black
- Debut: August 29, 2002
- Finishing Move: "Kinshasa"
Click on the image to buy the poster |
Wrestling career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Nakamura is known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his first reign coming at the age of 23 years and 9 months; his other accomplishments within the company include winning the 2011 G1 Climax and the 2014 New Japan Cup, being a record five-time and the longest-reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and being the final IWGP Third Belt Champion and NWF Heavyweight Champion. He is also a founding member and the original leader of the stable Chaos.
Nakamura as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion in September 2015 |
IWGP Intercontinental Champion
On July 22, Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the first time. In August's 2012 G1 Climax tournament, Nakamura wrestled in the same block as fellow Chaos member and recent IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. The two stablemates faced each other on August 5, with Nakamura picking up the win, effectively solidifying his spot as the leader of Chaos in the process. After four wins and three losses, Nakamura was defeated in the final day of the tournament by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and was thus eliminated from the finals, failing to defend his crown.
Also Read:
On August 26, Nakamura traveled to the United States to make his first successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, defeating Oliver John at a Sacramento Wrestling Federation (SWF) event in Gridley, California. The following day, Nakamura threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays in Arlington, Texas. On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a rematch against Hirooki Goto.
Nakamura as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion in May 2014 |
WWE
NXT Champion
On January 6, 2016, Nakamura confirmed in an interview with Tokyo Sports that he would be leaving NJPW at the end of the month and signing with WWE. On January 27, WWE officially announced that Nakamura would be taking part in the NXT TakeOver: Dallas event. On January 31, Nakamura was confirmed to have finished his NJPW commitments and was said to be reporting to the WWE Performance Center for training and handling logistical matters regarding his move to the company. On February 2, Nakamura arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to undergo pre-contract signing medical tests.
Nakamura and Sami zayn after their match at NXT Take over |
On February 22, WWE held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan to officially announce the signing of Nakamura to NXT. On April 1, Nakamura defeated Sami Zayn in his debut match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a critically acclaimed match. On the April 13 episode of NXT, Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger in his NXT television debut. On the May 18 episode of NXT, Nakamura teamed up with Austin Aries to defeat the team of Blake and Murphy.
Nakamura Still |
WWE Intercontinental Championship
- After a brief absence from television, Nakamura returned on the June 25 episode of SmackDown, interrupting WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor during a backstage interview, and expressed interest in the championship before walking off. On the July 9 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura defeated Bálor in a non-title match.
- Five days later at the Extreme Rules pre-show, Nakamura defeated Bálor to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time in his career. This win made him the second man, after Chris Jericho, to have held both the IWGP and WWE Intercontinental Championship, as well as the first Asian-born wrestler to win the title. On July 27, he successfully defended his title against Ali at WWE Sackville.
- Nakamura later started an alliance with Sami Zayn and defeated The Miz with his help at Clash of Champions to retain his WWE Intercontinental Championship. On the October 18 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura retained his championship against Roman Reigns after Baron Corbin interfered causing the disqualification. At Survivor Series, Nakamura lost to NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong in an inter-brand triple threat match also involving Raw's United States Champion A.J. Styles. On the November 29 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura and Zayn formed an alliance with Cesaro, as he and Nakamura unsuccessfully challenged The New Day for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.
- Since then Nakamura started a feud with Braun Strowman after he pinned Nakamura in a six-man tag team match on the December 12 episode of SmackDown and in a singles match two weeks later. At the Royal Rumble, Nakamura entered the Royal Rumble match entering at #11 but was quickly eliminated by the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. On January 31 episode of Smackdown, Nakamura lost the Intercontinental Championship to Strowman, ending his reign at 201 days.