Today WWE officially announced the signing of former IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura during a press conference held at Hard Rock Cafe in Tokyo, Japan. Nakamura arrived earlier this month in the United States after wrapping up his NJPW duties.
“Talent is the lifeblood of our company, and the signing of Shinsuke Nakamura further demonstrates NXT’s commitment to bringing in the best talent from all over the world,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative said. “His explosive style will make an immediate impact to an already dynamic NXT men’s division.”
Nakamura has been wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling since 2002 and won every accolade possible in the company, including the IWGP Heavyweight title three times, the IWGP Intercontinental title five times, and the IWGP Tag Team title once. He gave back the IWGP Intercontinental title back to New Japan on January 25 and wrestled his last match for the company five days later, joining Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii to defeat Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata.
Shinsuke Nakamura will make his official debut at NXT Takeover: Dallas, on April 1, against Sami Zayn.
