WWE News: Daniel Bryan Proposed Match With Shinsuke Nakamura, Joint Show With NJPW
New Japan Pro Wrestling will be promoting joint shows with Ring of Honor Wrestling in North America during May. These shows take place in Philadelphia and Toronto. However, if Daniel Bryan had his way, NJPW would have been promoting joint shows with a much bigger wrestling promotion this year.
Daniel Bryan recently told Title Match Wrestling that he pitched WWE on the idea of himself having a match with NJPW’s Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura is arguably the best wrestler in Japan, if not the world, right now. He recently won the Wrestling Observer’s Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Wrestler of the Year Award for 2014, making him the best wrestler on the planet in the eyes of some of the most informed wrestling mind’s out there.
Daniel Bryan pitched the idea to WWE with the mindset of the match being simulcast on both the WWE Network and NJPW’s streaming service, New Japan World. For his part, Shinsuke Nakamura was completely on board with the idea and wanted to do the match with Bryan. However, Daniel Bryan never heard back from WWE officials on his proposal.
Daniel Bryan and Nakamura are no strangers to one another. Years ago, the two of them were roommates in Santa Monica, California, while training at the Inoki Dojo. A match between two of the best performers in the world today would have certainly been a sight to behold. While the bout likely wouldn’t do much to attract new WWE Network subscribers, it could possibly give NJPW’s New Japan World service a bump in notoriety and possible subscribers.
According to a recent report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, NJPW World currently has 22,000 subscribers, with many of those subscribers coming from outside of Japan (roughly 15 percent). The service hasn’t quite caught on in Japan yet, and a Daniel Bryan versus Shinsuke Nakamura match could do wonders in getting the word out. It could be argued that among casual fans in Japan, Daniel Bryan is far more recognized than Shinsuke Nakamura is among casual fans in the United States. Thus, a bump in subscribers would probably benefit New Japan World more so than WWE Network. NJPW recently started airing on American television via AXS TV.
Nakamura has never wrestled full time in the United States since beginning his wrestling career in 2002. Though he did spend time training in the United States, he and Daniel Bryan never crossed paths in the ring officially in front of a paying audience. With the idea of a joint show between WWE and NJPW mostly a pipe dream at this point, the best chance of seeing Daniel Bryan and Nakamura square off would most likely involve Nakamura jumping ship to WWE like his former NJPW rival, Finn Balor (Prince Devitt).
[Image via AceShowbiz.com]
