Triple H is making all the right moves; he’s acquiring talent from all over the globe: KENTA (now Hideo Itami), Austin Aries, Asuka, and now Shinsuke Nakamura. NXT is now becoming a breeding ground for some of the finest international grapplers in professional wrestling, and that’s adding to talent like Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, the recently departed Kevin Owens, and Finn Balor.
Nakamura is an interesting acquisition, because while KENTA was also a top Japanese wrestling star, he’s undersized, something that can’t be said about the former. There’s something else that also sets Nakamura apart, and that’s his unbelievable charisma: his entrance — especially in high-profile matches — is a thing of beauty; the way he arches his back, and brushes the canvas is a spectacle to behold, and although it’s just a small gesture, Nakamura’s gesticulations are tailor-made for WWE’s brand of entertainment. It’s plain to see that WWE has taken to the Japanese star’s charisma, featuring his trademark motions in one of the promo videos they have released since his signing with the company in February. (Their newest video on the star, released Thursday, is featured above.)
But, while Nakamura’s talent is in place, there’s a shoddy, copper lining to his signing, and that’s WWE’s treatment of Japanese wrestlers of the past. World-class talents like Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi), Genichiro Tenryu, Ultimo Dragon, and more have not fared well under the glare of WWE’s lanterns. Granted, those performers wrestled under a different regime than what’s in place now in WWE, but much of that similar mindstate — i.e. if you’re a foreigner who can’t cut a promo, you probably can’t sell out a building — is likely circulating in the creative process, even if it’s just scant threads floating in the ether.
Those previously mentioned talents do hold some hope for Nakamura: Dragon was given the cruiserweight title for a short while, and Hakushi had some fine matches with Bret Hart. Itami, the most recent male Japanese star to make NXT, was given some of the limelight before his injury, but we can all probably agree that he’s been mostly underutilized up until this point.
Again, this is where we have to make the distinction that Nakamura is a different breed — he’s not like Shinzaki, or Tenryu (who had little to no charisma, but was an excellent hand in AJPW), or even the flashy Dragon. Shinsuke is a high-caliber athlete with boatloads of panache to match, the two primary ingredients necessary to take a performer to the top of the card. The problem still remains: he can’t, and will likely not be able to, cut a fantastic promo; the language barrier may be just too much for him to surmount at this point in his career. That’s not a knock on his learned ability, it’s just a factual analysis: learning a new language is very hard. Even if Nakamura is able to weave enough English-language verbs together, chances are WWE brass are not going to give him the stick very often.
There are superstars who’ve gotten far without the necessity of a promo. Look at world champions like The Undertaker or Yokozuna, wrestlers who got by on much of their career by showmanship or a mouthpiece like Paul Bearer. Brock Lesnar is no wizard on the microphone, but let’s all remember that he’s a legitimate badass; a former UFC heavyweight champion and NCAA great, and he has one of the best “stickmen” in the world on his side, Paul Heyman. What I’m saying is that just because Nakamura can’t cut a promo doesn’t mean that he won’t go far. Fans, especially ones not familiar with his work, need to buy into his process — they need to empathize with his struggle if he’s a face, and loath his motivations if he’s a heel; that’s a tough task when you can’t convey any of your emotions through language. On the other side of that argument, though, are superstars who can cut a fantastic promo, can provide a fine in-ring product, and still don’t get the push they deserve. (I’m looking in the direction of Bray Wyatt.)
If it seems like I’m going in circles here — will he succeed through the language-barrier or won’t he — it’s because this top can spin in any direction. With Nakamura, the talent is there. The skills are there. But, is WWE there? Perhaps the answers lie at NXT Takeover: Dallas, when Nakamura goes one-on-one with Sami Zayn, and WWE’s doors open up to one of the finest professional wrestling talents in the world today.
Which way will those doors swing?
