Shinsuke Nakamura is 1 of only 4 WWE Superstars to win the Royal Rumble and not have ever held a world title in WWE. While many have won the Rumble and failed to win the title at Mania, almost all have won the world title at some point in their careers. You have to go all the way back to 1994 when Lex Luger was a co-winner of the match with Bret Hart to find the last Rumble winner to never hold a world title.In addition to Nakamura and Luger, the first two winners of the Rumble, Big John Studd, and Jim Duggan never won a world title in WWE either.Could Nakamura win the Rumble again? Could he perhaps finally win the ultimate prize in WWE? In a recent interview, Nakamura said that is still his goal. Scroll down to learn what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Be A Grand Slam ChampionIn a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Nakamura noted that he is just 1 World Championship win away from being a Grand Slam title holder in WWE."I can achieve the Grand Slam if I get one WWE World Championship, so I would like to aim for that," Nakamura said.Nakamura faced Roman Reigns at Tribute to the Troops in a match taped last October. It was a non-title contest, however. If Nakamura enters and wins the Royal Rumble this year, he could earn a shot at Reigns at WrestleMania. Nakamura recently commented on wanting a full-fledged rivalry with the current Universal Champion. Scroll down to learn what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Face Roman ReignsShinsuke Nakamura spoke to Sports Illustrated in November about wanting a longer program with Reigns and one where he would challenge for the Universal title.“Roman has a real responsibility for WWE and professional wrestling, and a responsibility to his bloodline to be the best professional wrestler. He is one of the best in the world. But I need to get the WWE world title. I need to prove I’m better than him. Roman has that fighting spirit. I want to wrestle him more, and that includes Rick Boogs vs. Paul Heyman,” Nakamura said.While Nakamura is the current Intercontinental Champion, he finds himself wrestling in tag team matches often along with Rick Boogs. Scroll down to learn what Nakamura thinks of taking part in tag matches.Shinsuke Nakamura On Wrestling In Tag Team MatchesDuring his interview with Tokyo Sports, Nakamura also commented on frequently wrestling in tag team matches."I have the Intercontinental Championship, but I often team up with Boogs, and I have more tag matches than singles. Come to think of it, everyone is in a duo. Like veterans and young people."He continued to say that it seems many Superstars are paired with others in WWE."Even in NXT, it’s like handsome (Jiro) and KUSHIDA. Is it to increase the chances of appearing on the program together, while raising young talent by forming a combination?"Nakamura won World and Intercontinental titles while with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He's also mentioned recently that he hopes WWE and NJPW can work together someday. Scroll down to reveal what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants WWE & NJPW To Work TogetherLast year, there had been talk that WWE was interested in negotiating a talent-sharing deal with NJPW. The deal never came to fruition, however. Still, Nakamura hopes that the two companies could work together. He had the following to say about this to Tokyo Sports:"It’s [NJPW’s] 50th anniversary. I hope that there is something I can do to help them through my company. A match (in NJPW) would be… difficult. But if they really try to negotiate… it might be possible," Nakamura said."Right now, the situation is such that they are probably going to have to quarantine the [wrestlers] and take [border] measures. The risks are still too high. It would be nice if the situation calmed down and if there was a TV show that invited me," he continued.It's possible one day we could see Nakamura return to NJPW, but that does not appear to be something that can happen anytime soon.
Shinsuke Nakamura is 1 of only 4 WWE Superstars to win the Royal Rumble and not have ever held a world title in WWE. While many have won the Rumble and failed to win the title at Mania, almost all have won the world title at some point in their careers. You have to go all the way back to 1994 when Lex Luger was a co-winner of the match with Bret Hart to find the last Rumble winner to never hold a world title.In addition to Nakamura and Luger, the first two winners of the Rumble, Big John Studd, and Jim Duggan never won a world title in WWE either.Could Nakamura win the Rumble again? Could he perhaps finally win the ultimate prize in WWE? In a recent interview, Nakamura said that is still his goal. Scroll down to learn what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Be A Grand Slam ChampionIn a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Nakamura noted that he is just 1 World Championship win away from being a Grand Slam title holder in WWE."I can achieve the Grand Slam if I get one WWE World Championship, so I would like to aim for that," Nakamura said.Nakamura faced Roman Reigns at Tribute to the Troops in a match taped last October. It was a non-title contest, however. If Nakamura enters and wins the Royal Rumble this year, he could earn a shot at Reigns at WrestleMania. Nakamura recently commented on wanting a full-fledged rivalry with the current Universal Champion. Scroll down to learn what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Face Roman ReignsShinsuke Nakamura spoke to Sports Illustrated in November about wanting a longer program with Reigns and one where he would challenge for the Universal title.“Roman has a real responsibility for WWE and professional wrestling, and a responsibility to his bloodline to be the best professional wrestler. He is one of the best in the world. But I need to get the WWE world title. I need to prove I’m better than him. Roman has that fighting spirit. I want to wrestle him more, and that includes Rick Boogs vs. Paul Heyman,” Nakamura said.While Nakamura is the current Intercontinental Champion, he finds himself wrestling in tag team matches often along with Rick Boogs. Scroll down to learn what Nakamura thinks of taking part in tag matches.Shinsuke Nakamura On Wrestling In Tag Team MatchesDuring his interview with Tokyo Sports, Nakamura also commented on frequently wrestling in tag team matches."I have the Intercontinental Championship, but I often team up with Boogs, and I have more tag matches than singles. Come to think of it, everyone is in a duo. Like veterans and young people."He continued to say that it seems many Superstars are paired with others in WWE."Even in NXT, it’s like handsome (Jiro) and KUSHIDA. Is it to increase the chances of appearing on the program together, while raising young talent by forming a combination?"Nakamura won World and Intercontinental titles while with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He's also mentioned recently that he hopes WWE and NJPW can work together someday. Scroll down to reveal what he said.Shinsuke Nakamura Wants WWE & NJPW To Work TogetherLast year, there had been talk that WWE was interested in negotiating a talent-sharing deal with NJPW. The deal never came to fruition, however. Still, Nakamura hopes that the two companies could work together. He had the following to say about this to Tokyo Sports:"It’s [NJPW’s] 50th anniversary. I hope that there is something I can do to help them through my company. A match (in NJPW) would be… difficult. But if they really try to negotiate… it might be possible," Nakamura said."Right now, the situation is such that they are probably going to have to quarantine the [wrestlers] and take [border] measures. The risks are still too high. It would be nice if the situation calmed down and if there was a TV show that invited me," he continued.It's possible one day we could see Nakamura return to NJPW, but that does not appear to be something that can happen anytime soon.
