WWE News: Triple H Confirms Shinsuke Nakamura’s Main Roster Debut is Coming Soon
There is no question that Shinsuke Nakamura will be brought to Raw or SmackDown eventually, but Triple H provided a massive update about his future in WWE earlier today. Since debuting for WWE back at NXT Takeover: Dallas, “The King of Strong Style” has taken over NXT. He has wrestled Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Austin Aries, Samoa Joe, and others in big matches and defeated all of them at some point in the last year.
Nakamura has won the NXT Champion twice and replaced Balor as the top babyface in NXT. To say that he would be a superstar on WWE television is an understatement. You can’t deny how successful Shinsuke has been over the past year in NXT, but there is still the question of how much longer WWE can postpone his jump to the main roster. It was acknowledged by Triple H that he would be bound for Monday Night Raw.
The assumption has been that it’s only a matter of time before WWE officials will pull the trigger. However, there is already a lot of speculation about Samoa Joe making his main roster debut during the WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday. His loss will be a big hit to the NXT roster, so losing Nakamura before another star has become established enough to replace him means the WWE Universe could be waiting awhile longer for his debut.
On Saturday night, Shinsuke Nakamura will defend the NXT title against Bobby Roode at NXT Takeover: San Antonio. The latter’s current run in NXT has been glorious since his debut over the summer. Roode is walking a thin line between being a face and a heel, so he could be the one to replace Nakamura down the line. However, if anyone else is taking Nakamura’s spot in NXT, it’ll likely be after NXT Takeover: Orlando and Wrestlemania 33.
The WWE Royal Rumble is set to be one of the best in WWE history based on the number of big WWE stars that will be a part of the match. There has been some speculation that Shinsuke Nakamura could be one of the big surprises during the bout. A lot of people are naturally assuming that a ‘Royal Rumble’ appearance means a main roster call-up, but WWE officials may just give Nakamura a spot in the match for exposure.
WWE officials have booked NXT Superstars to for appearances on WWE television and PPVs before. It’s a good thing for the NXT brand to have more exposure, especially if WWE officials are testing the waters to see how the WWE Universe reacts to someone like Shinsuke Nakamura. It’s plausible and even logical for the powers that be to see how those two elements mix, but Triple H recently put any of those rumors to bed.
With NXT Takeover: San Antonio this Saturday, the standard media call with Triple H took place earlier today. During the call, he addressed Shinsuke Nakamura and his future with WWE. There were at least two interesting nuggets of information that came out of the call. The first being Nakamura’s age. He’s currently anchoring NXT at thirty-seven years old, which means there is only so much time he has left in wrestling.
However, HHH also explained there is a big learning curve when an international star like Shinsuke comes over to WWE/NXT. Apparently, Nakamura came over with little to no experience working on a television show, which is what WWE programming is at its core. Therefore, Triple H and WWE officials felt he needed some experience in NXT before he could be brought to the main roster and WWE television.
The Game also made it clear that Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut on the main roster isn’t a question of “if” but “when.” On paper, there is a strong logic to the way WWE officials have utilized Nakamura in NXT. It’s just a matter of time before he takes the main roster by storm. For now, the WWE Universe needs to be patient.
[Featured Image by WWE]
