Shinsuke Nakamura knew there was only one WrestleMania opponent for him. Fate wouldn’t have it any other way.
He and A.J. Styles wrestled at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in January 2016 in a match Nakamura won. It was Styles’ final match in New Japan before leaving to join WWE. Nakamura made the jump to WWE’s NXT brand later that month.
This time around, Nakamura is wrestling in Styles’ country in what many consider a dream match, including the King of Strong Style himself.
“It’s an amazing thing for WWE history I think,” Nakamura said in a phone interview of facing Styles for the WWE title in New Orleans on Sunday. “We crossed over, we crossed the border line in Japan and the States, different company and that’s why I say this is destiny.”
It’s a pairing many believe could produce a match-of-the-year candidate. But how his performance is graded is not a concern to Nakamura, who will be making his WrestleMania debut.
“Actually I don’t care about the ratings, five stars, six stars, seven stars, whatever,” he said. “But I really want to enjoy this match. I want to do everything I can do. I want to take everything he can do.”
Nakamura, who said he had only seen highlights of WrestleMania before the past two years, is confident he can put forward his best, saying he finally feels “comfortable” with WWE’s brand of wrestling.
He said the biggest challenge was moving his family to the US. The wrestling was never a major concern to him, but there were adjustments he needed to make.
Nakamura said he had to learn to work under WWE’s time restrictions, especially on its live television shows. Many of his matches in Japan were taped and could be edited. He wanted to challenge himself to perform under new circumstances.
“We didn’t need to care about the time,” Nakamura said. “WWE time-wise is so strict.”
Being in sync now is one of the reasons he is confident in the level of match he and Styles can put on. When they were together in New Japan, Styles was getting comfortable with the Japanese style. Both of them are more polished now.
“When he was in Japan, he needed to adjust, but now he doesn’t need to,” Nakamura said. “For me, this took time to adjust, but now I feel comfortable with the WWE. At WrestleMania I can show my 100 percent or more.”
Sunday could be a big night for another Japanese star. Asuka is stepping in the ring with Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown women’s championship. The WWE possibly crowning two Japanese champions at WrestleMania 34 has implications that reach far beyond the two performers in Nakamura’s eyes.
“It’s probably the biggest thing for the Japanese wrestling history,” he said.
He doesn’t see their language barrier as a hindrance to their ability to connect with the audience. Nakamura has one of the best entrances in WWE, which complements his eccentric style and energy. There is more than one way to get people emotionally invested in your character, he believes.
“I think a wrestler can say something from fighting, from wrestling,” Nakamura said. “I’m not like an English speaker so I have confidence in my wrestling skills, also like body language, hand gestures, facial expressions. I put all of my emotion in my wrestling. That’s why maybe people can feel [a connection].”
One wrestler he will always be linked to is Daniel Bryan. The two roomed together, along with MMA fighter Lyoto Machida, when they were all in the Inoki Dojo — a school that trained people in MMA and pro wrestling — in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. Bryan and Nakamura only worked together in tag matches in New Japan.
He said one of the reasons he came to WWE was to finally wrestle Bryan, who was forced into retirement in 2016 because of complications with concussions. It was the same year Nakamura joined the company.
“So, I join the WWE and soon he needed to quit,” Nakamura said. “That was shock to me. Huge shock.”
When Bryan was medically cleared two weeks ago to wrestle again, Nakamura was one of the first superstars to tweet the idea of a match between him and the leader of the Yes Movement. He’d be happy to have it at next year’s WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium.
“Next dream match for me,” he said.
For now, his focus is on the present and the dream match ahead of him at WrestleMania with Styles. Nakamura said it’s an opportunity for him to prove himself.
“I am so excited,” Nakamura said. “It’s going to be my biggest moment upcoming.”