5 mistakes WWE made with Shinsuke Nakamura in 2017

Exhibiting sheer wrestling ability, embodying a magnetic charisma, and enjoying tons of respect from wrestling aficionados worldwide. Shinsuke Nakamura has all the resources to be the hottest superstar in any wrestling promotion.

The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion left NJPW crafting a masterpiece bout with AJ Styles and stepped into WWE by wrestling a classic against Sami Zayn. During his incredible run in NXT, Nakamura was handled and revered as a true wrestling megastar. Hard strikes, innovative offence and lightning quick reflexes, Nakamura was truly presented as the King of Strong Style at Full Sail University.

However, on the main roster, WWE has made the decision to present him as an artist, a Rockstar instead of the popular booking that endeared him to the WWE Universe in the first place. WWE have mishandled Nakamura in 2017 but there is hope that the company will highlight him better in 2018. However, as it stands, WWE might have botched one of its hottest rising talents.

Here are 5 mistakes that WWE made with Shinsuke Nakamura in 2017:

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#1 His uneventful main roster debut

Perhaps the greatest debut match in WWE history

As Nakamura made his much-anticipated debut at NXT Takeover: Dallas, the only apt word that can describe the atmosphere in the arena was surreal. His 5-star performance against Sami Zayn was one of the best WWE matches in 2016. All the hyped paid off and Nakamura had tons of momentum heading into his WWE career.

Why WWE did not follow through with this picture-perfect blueprint for Nakamura’s main roster debut was a mystery. The King of Strong Style walked into the Smackdown Live after WrestleMania 33 to a raucous ovation. Flanked by the talented violinist, Lee England Jr, Nakamura trotted down the ramp soaking in the adulation from the crowd.

Fans all over the world expected a blockbuster confrontation or a 5-star match. But WWE oddly opted to have Nakamura’s entrance, well, serve as his debut. However, for the live crowd in the arena, Nakamura made his main roster debut in a dark match against Dolph Ziggler. And so, ensured a disappointing feud that only dragged down the 2-time NXT Champion.

#2 Involving him in lacklustre feuds

The lack of established superstars on the blue brand affected Nakamura's main roster run

Nakamura experienced a very successful run in NXT. That was only possible due to factors of; being an extremely talented wrestler, having respect from every fan in the Full Sail arena and most importantly having the opportunity to feud with world-class athletes. Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Austin Aries constantly stole the show with Nakamura in the NXT ring.

Therefore, after establishing Nakamura as a wrestling great to the WWE Universe, WWE had a plethora of options to choose from for his 2017 feuds on Smackdown Live. Sami Zayn, Randy Orton and John Cena were all available at least once throughout 2017 to have a memorable feud with Nakamura.

Instead, the King of Strong Style was pushed into disappointing feuds. Nakamura’s inaugural feud was with Dolph Ziggler, a wrestler that WWE has struggled to fully utilize for his entire career. A pay-per-view match with Baron Corbin had followed to only further waste Nakamura’s star presence. Finally, WWE had inexplicably sucked Nakamura into the ‘Jinder Mahal experiment’ that resulted in the former being needlessly sacrificed twice to put over the average champion.

Although most of those feuds ended with a Nakamura victory. None of those rivalries managed to progress, highlight, and draw attention to Nakamura’s presence on the Smackdown Live roster. Although a dream match between Nakamura and AJ Styles can get the former back to his past glory, these lacklustre feuds have undoubtedly left a bad stench on Nakamura’s legendary career.

#3 Being the first man eliminated from his team at Survivor Series 2017

This match was Nakamura's ticket to resurgence

The Survivor Series men’s elimination match was fantasy booking come to life. The team was the perfect blend of legends and hot rising talent. Wrestlers who never butted heads before were standing a couple feet across the ring from each other. And while WWE had a potential show stealer on their hands, the outrageous booking had managed to ruin this special encounter.

One such overwhelming decision was the shocking elimination of Shinsuke Nakamura. After months of terrible booking, the Japanese megastar was pegged by many to begin his resurgence to the top of the card at Survivor Series. Unfortunately, on this night WWE had chosen to highlight the past rather than the future. Resulting in 46-year-old non-wrestler Shane McMahon becoming the last man fighting for his team.

While the match did continue building Raw’s hottest talent Braun Strowman, Smackdown Live stars like Nakamura received no such validation. WWE gave up an excellent opportunity to help the King of Strong Style regain his lost momentum heading into Wrestlemania season. But they had essentially chosen to unjustifiably bury him for no apparent reason.

#4 Not giving him a manager

Paul Heyman would have been the perfect advocate for Nakamura

A superstar essentially needs two capabilities to be a great wrestler; be proficiently talented in the squared circle and secondly have natural promo skills. While most legends in wrestling history had truly embodied those both these characteristics. There are a select few that had encapsulating personalities which masked their lack of in-ring skill and there were hard hitters that truly let their fists do the talking.

Shinsuke Nakamura is a wrestler whose first language is Japanese. However, he is one of those wrestlers that don’t need words to make an impact, as his unique wrestling ability and megastar presence speaks louder than words. Since Nakamura’s Smackdown Live debut, WWE has chosen to display his weaknesses and not take advantage of his above strengths. From the onset, WWE should have paired the Japanese megastar with a manager that is a verbal master on the mic.

The perfect man to advocate for the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion would’ve been Paul Heyman. Without Heyman, there is no telling how far WWE could’ve made Lesnar feel like a larger than life presence in the company. And if WWE is seriously going to book Nakamura as a main event player in 2018, they need to start concealing his biggest weakness, promos.

#5 Sending him to Smackdown Live

Nakamura could be the answer to Brock Lesnar's Royal Rumble problem

Monday night Raw is undoubtedly WWE’S flagship show in 2017. Featuring a lengthy 3-hour runtime, Raw tends to boast a much more star-studded line up to keep viewers intrigued. However, this results in WWE still treating Smackdown Live as its ‘B show’. The blue brand has lost most of its cornerstones to Raw in 2017. Thus, in order to parade an evened-out roster, WWE had used the NXT call-ups to create a sense of balance between both brands.

Sending Shinsuke Nakamura to the blue brand, where he can have creative space to grow and develop was sharp thinking from the company. However, at the same time, WWE had removed key players like The Miz, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt from the land of opportunity. Leaving the King of Strong Style to work with a rather underwhelming roster. Thus, thrusting a huge star like Nakamura into Raw prominence would’ve made for a much more fruitful year for him.

Instead of contesting disappointing matches with Jinder Mahal. Nakamura’s involvement in dream feuds with the likes of; Finn Balor, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins would’ve certainly helped him make his mark on the main roster. This would’ve also provided a solution to one of WWE’s biggest problems right now. A solution which could’ve led to one of the biggest main events in Royal Rumble history, Shinsuke Nakamura vs Brock Lesnar.

Having a storied history leading all the way back to the land of rising sun, Nakamura vs Lesnar would be a historic showdown in a WWE ring. These two legends of the business are one of the very few athletes in WWE that have a legitimate MMA background. Nakamura's strong style vs Lesnar’s brute force could’ve potentially been one of the ‘hardest hitting’ match's in WWE history.