What we learned from watching the WWE this week: April 28, 2017

#4 Nakamura probably needed a better first opponent

There are better ways to ‘show-off’ Nakamura

To their credit, the WWE have handled Shinsuke Nakamura's main roster debut quite well. Seeing the King of Strong Style wrestle should feel like a big deal, so having him come in and immediately get in the ring with a jobber wouldn’t have done the occasion justice. Instead, they have slowly introduced him to fans who don’t watch NJPW or NXT and are building up his first match like the attraction that it is.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t find anyone better than Dolph Ziggler to face him. That’s not to say the in-ring action won’t be great. We all know Dolph can go in the ring, and he is still one of the best sellers the WWE has right now. Shinsuke’s strong style moves ought to look quite effective at Backlash.

The problem lies in Ziggler’s mic skills and overall persona. Dolph isn’t known for being the best talker in general, and the promo between the two of them this week was very awkward indeed. For Nakamura to have any success in the WWE, he is going to need to work with some talented talkers. His English isn’t great, and his character is a little different to anything WWE-only fans are used to.

Dolph doesn’t have that out and out heel persona that helps dRaw heat onto himself and support on to his opponent. A far better feud would have been Nakamura Vs. The Miz. He would have been able to do 80% of the talking, and he actually has the skills to come across as an effective heel. Hopefully, the match we have will be fantastic, and both men can move on to something a little more suited to their respective skills.