Take a second to let it all sink in: AJ Styles is now a full-time member of the WWE roster, Shinsuke Nakamura will debut for NXT on the weekend of WrestleMania, and the Bullet Club pair of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are in the works, as well. It’s a hell of a time to be even remotely interested in WWE, but you have to consider the equal and opposite reaction over in New Japan Pro Wrestling. They’re losing four huge stars, and there’s bound to be a power vacuum opening up. We already saw the initial consequences of this when Kenny Omega seized control of Bullet Club, and now the CHAOS stable is losing their leader in Nakamura.
January 30 was the final NJPW show for Shinsuke Nakamura, and in front of a sold-out Korakuen Hall, he said goodbye to the NJPW fans. Check out the video, complete with subtitles for his promo. (No such luck on the makeshift press conference at the end, sorry.)
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“I was born here, grew up here… I’ll show an unsuspecting world Shinsuke Nakamura!
Nakamura is joined in the ring by NJPW bookers Jado and Gedo, plus Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Toru Yano. Okada, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, is visibly shaken up, probably more so than the rest. Also, pause on any shot of the crowd and you’ll see at least two people in tears. I almost shed a few tears myself, so let’s just all watch this one more time together, then patiently wait two months until the King of Strong Style makes his WWE debut in Dallas. I know for a fact I’ll be crying that day, mainly because I missed the sales for Takeover and StubHub prices are astronomical right now.
