{"id":52437,"date":"2019-08-13T06:42:09","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T10:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=52437"},"modified":"2019-08-15T03:10:10","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T07:10:10","slug":"shinsuke-nakamura-is-intercontinental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/08\/13\/shinsuke-nakamura-is-intercontinental\/","title":{"rendered":"Shinsuke Nakamura is Intercontinental"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Shinsuke Nakamura<\/strong> has been a household name in wrestling for the past two decades.\u00a0 He had a glittering career in Japan with <strong>New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong>, becoming one of the most popular stars Japan has ever produced.\u00a0 Nakamura became a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion during his NJPW career.\u00a0 The self-proclaimed (though later proclaimed by all) &#8220;King of Strong Style&#8221; built a reputation in Japan as a puroresu master.\u00a0 His style unique; his stance seemingly influenced by the ancient zui quan martial art and his manner more chilled than a freezer in the arctic.\u00a0 He is also a two-time NXT Champion, a Royal Rumble Match winner and two-time WWE United States Champion.\u00a0 So it&#8217;s safe to say his success hasn&#8217;t been limited to just Japan.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wild reaction for Shinsuke Nakamura&#039;s return home\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bLganuzz3NM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>A History of Being Intercontinental<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52448\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52448\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IWPG-IC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IWPG-IC.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IWPG-IC-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IWPG-IC-356x220.jpg 356w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: New Japan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite everything that Shinsuke Nakamura has achieved in his career, the one title that most complimented him was the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.\u00a0 It can be argued that it complimented Nakamura, too, as Nakamura became synonymous with the championship.\u00a0 Nakamura held it a record five-times (though <strong>Tetsuya Naito<\/strong> is currently on his fourth reign, so watch out, Nak).\u00a0 He elevated the title to main event status with<em> stupendous<\/em> matches against the likes of <strong>Kota Ibushi<\/strong> and <strong>WWE<\/strong> co-worker, <strong>AJ Styles<\/strong>, at <em><strong>Wrestle Kingdom 9<\/strong> <\/em>and <em><strong>10<\/strong><\/em>, respectively.\u00a0 The Ibushi match became the Wrestling Observer&#8217;s pick for Match of the Year in 2015, despite the match taking place within the first week of the year.\u00a0 That&#8217;s how great it was.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/N64fWSWntPA<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Moving Stateside<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52449\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52449\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52449\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-NXT.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-NXT.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-NXT-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52449\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After departing Japan in early 2016 (vacating his beloved IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the process), he took this style across the pacific to feature in the WWE.\u00a0 He quickly established himself as an absolute fan-favourite in <strong>NXT<\/strong> and soon captured the NXT Championship.\u00a0 He became the second ever two-time NXT Champion, after beating the first man to do it, <strong>Samoa Joe<\/strong>, at an NXT show in Osaka, Japan.\u00a0 The Nakamura hype was well-and-truly now a United States resident.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NXT Championship Match: WWE NXT, Dec. 7, 2016\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rD6HHVZhqw4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>When Nakamura arrived at <strong>SmackDown<\/strong> in April of 2017, he brought much of that fanfare with him.\u00a0 Early on in his run, he beat the likes of <strong>John Cena<\/strong>; displaying the respect Nakamura earned from WWE hierarchy. Though he suffered momentum-stalling defeats against at-the-time WWE Champion<strong> Jinder Mahal<\/strong>, Nakamura still went on to win the big match at <em><strong>Royal Rumble 2018<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 In doing so, he became the first Japanese star to win the match, a feat which wouldn&#8217;t be matched until <strong>Asuka<\/strong> won the women&#8217;s equivalent just an hour or so later.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Take a closer look at Royal Rumble Match Winner Shinsuke Nakamura: SmackDown LIVE, Feb. 20, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u6-uDW8dEnU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>His unique style, charisma and charm was working so effectively on the main roster that he earned his <strong><em>WrestleMania<\/em> <\/strong>title shot.\u00a0 Who was it against? AJ Styles, the man who Nakamura successfully defended his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against at Wrestle Kingdom 10.\u00a0 Whereas Nakamura won on his home turf, the away fixture would go in favour of the American Phenomenal One.\u00a0 Though the match disappointed and didn&#8217;t live up to the heightened expectations produced by the Wrestle Kingdom match, it was still a solid match.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it would result in the beginning of the end of Nakamura&#8217;s main event run.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nakamura&#039;s strange and wonderful WrestleMania journey: WWE Chronicle\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mpe2auv-3eM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Leaving the WWE Title Picture<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52450\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52450\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-US.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-US.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-US-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He would soon turn heel.\u00a0 Though things initially looked promising with <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/S-VyG3V-l2I\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cool new entrance music<\/a>, badass character and heightened aggression, it was clear Nakamura was transitioning out of the title picture.\u00a0 Nak would lose his rematches against Styles before entering the United States Championship picture.\u00a0 He began feuds with <strong>R-Truth<\/strong>, <strong>Rusev<\/strong> and <strong>Rey Mysterio<\/strong>.\u00a0 He won\u00a0the title twice in the process, before disappearing off our screens entirely.\u00a0 His name became embroiled in internet rumours, speculating that he would be leaving at the end of his soon-to-be-expiring contract.\u00a0 Thankfully, this turned out to be nothing more than rumours, as Nakamura reportedly signed a new contract in April 2019.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev - United States Championship Match: SmackDown LIVE, Dec. 25, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lyywR2Xz7u8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Intercontinental Legend<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_52451\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52451\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52451\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IC.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2019\/08\/Nakamura-IC-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52451\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though Nakamura elevates any championship, the US title was not the right fit for the King of Strong Style.\u00a0 Nakamura&#8217;s history as the ultimate IWGP Intercontinental Champion was always going to bring him to one championship in the WWE.\u00a0 Just like fellow Intercontinental figurehead <strong>Chris Jericho<\/strong>, who in the the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2019\/08\/09\/20-years-later-jericho-commands-attention\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">twenty years since his WWE debut<\/a> became synonymous with the Intercontinental Championship, so too will Nakamura.\u00a0 In 2018, Jericho became the first man to have held both the IWGP (1x) and WWE (9x) Intercontinental Championships.\u00a0 In July 2019, Nakamura became the second.\u00a0 By pinning former champion (and long-time NJPW friend\/enemy) <strong>Finn Balor<\/strong> at <em><strong>Extreme Rules<\/strong><\/em>, Nakamura continued his legacy as one of the all-time great Intercontinental Champions.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nakamura&#039;s photshoot after winning Intercontinental Champion: WWE Exclusive, July 14, 2019\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jENRJVV4s4k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The win made him the first Asian-born performer to hold the famous white strap.\u00a0 The title (still the best looking in the WWE) is a perfect fit for Shinsuke Nakamura.\u00a0 Just like the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, it looks made for Nakamura.\u00a0 Now that Shinsuke Nakamura has captured the title and has held it for an entire month, here is hoping this is the beginning of yet another exciting Intercontinental Championship legacy for the veteran Japanese performer.\u00a0 Nakamura, as mentioned, can elevate any championship &#8211; he just needs the freedom to do so.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13337\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13337\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13337\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/01\/Shinsuke_Nakamura_bio-052c8c487f9fda469802509d4ca7e44e-e1517168760836.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.\u00a0 Want to see more Nakamura? Then visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwe.com\/wwenetwork\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WWE Network<\/a>, where you can catch all of Nakamura&#8217;s present and future matches.\u00a0 Want some classic Nakamura? Then make sure to check out <a href=\"https:\/\/njpwworld.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Japan World<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shinsuke Nakamura has been a household name in wrestling for the past two decades.\u00a0 He had a glittering career in Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling, becoming one of the most popular stars Japan has ever produced.\u00a0 Nakamura became a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion during his NJPW career.\u00a0 The self-proclaimed (though later proclaimed by all) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2482,"featured_media":52438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[107,111,329,2620,504,118,781,47],"class_list":["post-52437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wwe","tag-chris-jericho","tag-finn-balor","tag-intercontinental-championship","tag-iwgp-intercontinental-championship","tag-new-japan","tag-shinsuke-nakamura","tag-tetsuya-naito","tag-wwe"],"modified_by":"Niklas George","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}