WWE Rumors: Huge NXT Star To Debut On ‘SmackDown Live’ After ‘WrestleMania’
There are a lot of WWE rumors concerning NXT stars making the jump to the main roster following WrestleMania 33. Names like The Revival, DIY, and Asuka are rumored to be heading to the main roster soon but one name is leading them all. Two-time NXT champion Shinsuke Nakamura is rumored to be heading to SmackDown Live just two days after WrestleMania 33.
The rumors hit when Sportskeeda broke an exclusive from the Dirty Sheets podcast saying that Shinsuke Nakamura would show up on SmackDown Live next Tuesday night. However, tonight Nakamura wrestles Bobby Roode for the NXT title at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, so there is no way the WWE pushes these rumors.
In an interview with Crave Online, Shinsuke Nakamura refused to entertain the idea of heading to the main roster right now. He said that it is a hard question when choosing between NXT and the WWE because he wants to prove how great he is in Orlando against Bobby Roode.
“I build the Nakamura era and I’m going to prove again who I am and show off my ability so I have to concentrate on TakeOver Orlando against Bobby Roode instead of that.”
Shinsuke Nakamura went on to point out that, even though he won’t be at WrestleMania 33, the NXT TakeOver: Orlando event has a lot of carry over, meaning fans from all over the world will be attending the event. Shinsuke said that he wants to prove himself to the entire world at the NXT event tonight.
Shinsuke Nakamura heading to SmackDown Live is not new news either. Cageside Seats reported back in February that both Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles have said that they want to face each other in the WWE. Some fans dreamed of that as a WrestleMania 33 match but it never happened and Styles is slated against Shane McMahon instead.
Both Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles worked together in New Japan and put on great matches over there. Wrestling in the WWE would give them a bigger stage for the rest of the world. Shinsuke wanted the match at WrestleMania 33 and said so in an interview with Yahoo Japan back in February.
“If the [WrestleMania] opportunity presented itself, I want to do it. AJ doesn’t have an opponent yet, I’d like to fill that spot. I’ve acheived a lot this year, but there’s much more to do. I want to make more strides over the next year and show my true ability.”
AJ Styles agreed and said that he would love for that match to happen as well. He responded to a fan question at the Portland Wizard World in February about Shinsuke Nakamura.
“Oh man. I mean, can I say what everybody wants me to say? Nakamura. Yeah, I think that’s definitely going to happen in the near future and it’s only a matter of time until he makes it to WWE.”
Then, just in the past week, Shinsuke Nakamura was asked if he would prefer heading to Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live when his time in NXT came to an end. This was in an interview with Sportskeeda, the site that broke the news of Shinsuke heading to SmackDown Live next week.
“Either brand is okay. Raw has Joe, Finn. So much NXT talent that it’s comfortable for me. SmackDown has AJ Styles, Randy Orton, John Cena. I want to wrestle all of them. So either!”
However, before a move to the main WWE roster comes, Shinsuke Nakamura has a huge match during WrestleMania weekend against Bobby Roode with the chance to become the first ever three-time NXT champion. If the WWE rumors are true, Nakamura will lose that match but it would also mean a SmackDown Live debut and the possible dream match with AJ Styles down the line.
[Featured Image by WWE]
