Vividly unrestrained and expressive, Nakamura portrays a wildly random and erratic
mixed martial artsenigma, emotionally charged by the sound of violins.[7][8][9] A pre-WWE gimmick, Nakamura played the character in other wrestling companies that he was contracted to prior.[10] Nakamura's wrestling style is not merely gimmick as he has notably competed in
mixed martial arts, amassing a 3–1 (1) record.
Prior to his main roster debut in WWE, Nakamura competed in the company's
NXT brand, where he became a two-time
NXT Champion. In January 2018, Nakamura won the
2018 Men's Royal Rumble match, and later won the
WWE United States Championship twice. He won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time in 2019 at
Extreme Rules, making him the second wrestler (behind
Chris Jericho) to hold both WWE and IWGP Intercontinental Championships. Nakamura is also a former
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion with
Cesaro. From July 2021 to October of the same year, Nakamura dubbed himself King Nakamura due to being in possession of the
King of the Ring crown, although he never won the tournament, instead defeating reigning King of the Ring
Baron Corbin in a "Battle for the Crown" match. Overall, Nakamura is a five-time world champion in professional wrestling.
Nakamura joined NJPW in March 2002 and quickly began making a name for himself as a bright prospect for the company.[6] Having earned the nickname "Super Rookie", Nakamura impressed both NJPW officials and fans with an excellent combination of strength, speed, and technical skill.[6] Alongside fellow rookies
Hiroshi Tanahashi and
Katsuyori Shibata, Nakamura became known as one of the "new
Three Musketeers".[13] Nakamura began training
vale tudo and on December 31 made his
mixed martial arts debut in a fight, where he was defeated by
Daniel Gracie via submission to an armlock.[6] Nakamura's second MMA fight took place on May 2, 2003, when he defeated
Jan Nortje with a
guillotine choke.[6] He followed that up on September 13 with another submission victory over Shane Eitner in his third MMA fight.[14] On December 9, Nakamura defeated
Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship, thus becoming the youngest wrestler in history to win the title.[6] On January 4, 2004, at
Wrestling World 2004, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the
NWF Heavyweight ChampionYoshihiro Takayama in a title unification match.[6] However, Nakamura was forced to vacate the title due to an injury just a month later.[6]
Nakamura challenged
Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2006, at
Toukon Shidou Chapter 1, but he lost.[6] In March 2006, Nakamura announced that he would depart on a learning excursion to further improve his wrestling skills.[6] Among other things, he would travel to Mexico, Brazil and Russia as well as train with Lesnar at Lesnar's personal gym to gain muscle mass. NJPW President Simon Inoki later suggested that as part of his learning excursion, Nakamura would be loaned to
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to gain experience in working large American shows.[16] However, it proved to be mostly speculation and never came to pass as Nakamura was urgently needed back in New Japan due to Lesnar's departure.
On September 24, Nakamura made his long-awaited return to New Japan, joining Masahiro Chono's
Black New Japan faction, which had the goal of reforming New Japan with Chono as the president and Nakamura as the "
ace".[6][17] Nakamura had greatly improved his muscular mass during his overseas training and also debuted a new finisher, called the Landslide.[6] On December 10, Nakamura was unable to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from then-champion Tanahashi and was again unsuccessful on January 4, 2007, at the
Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome show, where he lost to
Toshiaki Kawada.[6] Nakamura entered the
2007 G1 Climax tournament, where he reached the semi-finals before dislocating his shoulder.[6] The injury sidelined Nakamura for months, but he made his return on November 11 and took over the leadership of Black New Japan from Chono and reformed the faction under the new name
RISE. The faction originally consisted of himself,
Minoru,
Milano Collection A.T.,
Hirooki Goto,
Giant Bernard,
Travis Tomko and
Prince Devitt.[6]Low Ki was later added to the stable after Milano was injured, having impressed Nakamura during an appearance when he was still with
Impact Wrestling! (Formerly TNA). On December 9, Nakamura defeated
Togi Makabe to earn an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at the following month's Tokyo Dome show.[6]
On January 4, 2008, Nakamura defeated his rival Tanahashi in the main event of
Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time.[6] On February 17, Nakamura defeated
Kurt Angle to win the
IGFversion of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, unifying it with his own NJPW version of the title.[6] He lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) representative
Keiji Mutoh in
Osaka on April 27.[6]
On September 5, Nakamura and RISE stablemate Hirooki Goto unsuccessfully challenged Togi Makabe and
Toru Yano for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Immediately after the match, the duo were attacked by Giant Bernard,
Rick Fuller and the returning Low Ki, who had just left RISE to join Makabe's
GBH faction.[6] On February 15, 2009, Nakamura faced Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but he failed to regain the title.[18]
In April 2009, Nakamura
turned into a
villain, siding with the former members of GBH (especially Toru Yano) in a
feud against Togi Makabe and
Tomoaki Honma. This new group was soon named
Chaos with Nakamura as their leader.[6] Nakamura began to work a much rougher style, using a lot of knees and continuing to use a straight right hand as a frequent move in addition to the Bomaye (renamed Kinshasa in WWE), his new
finisher. It was the Bomaye that took him to the finals of the
2009 G1 Climax, where he lost to Makabe.[6] Prior to the final, Nakamura had gone undefeated, winning each match with the Bomaye. The move was also credited for fracturing IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi's orbital bone in the semi-finals of the G1, which forced Tanahashi to vacate the title later that month.[6]
On September 27, Nakamura avenged his G1 loss and defeated Makabe in a decision match to win the IWGP Heavyweight title for a third time.[6] Upon winning the title, Nakamura drew the ire of
Antonio Inoki by announcing his plan of wanting to restore the "
Strong Style" of New Japan by capturing the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt from Inoki to replace the fourth generation title belt held by Nakamura.[19] On October 12, Nakamura successfully defended the title against
Shinjiro Otani.[20] On November 8 at
Destruction '09, Nakamura successfully defended the title against previous champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.[21] On December 5, Nakamura retained the title by defeating
Yuji Nagata.[22] On January 4, 2010, at
Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Yoshihiro Takayama in a rematch of their 2004 Tokyo Dome title unification bout.[23] After defeating Takayama, Nakamura was challenged by
Manabu Nakanishi, whom he would pin on February 14 at New Japan's ISM show in Sumo Hall, making his fifth defense.[24] On April 4, Nakamura made his sixth successful title defense against the
2010 New Japan Cup winner and former teammate Hirooki Goto and afterwards accepted Togi Makabe's challenge for the title.[25] On May 3 at
Wrestling Dontaku 2010, Nakamura lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Makabe.[26] Following the loss, Nakamura was sidelined with a shoulder injury until he returned on June 19 at
Dominion 6.19, defeating
Daniel Puder.
Atsushi Sawada and Simon Inoki of IGF appeared at the show and seemed to eye up Nakamura after the match.[27][28] On July 19, Nakamura received a rematch for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but he was once again defeated by Makabe.[29] The following month, Nakamura entered the
2010 G1 Climax, where he won four out of his seven-round robin stage matches, including one over eventual winner
Satoshi Kojima, leading his block heading to the final day, where he wrestled
Pro Wrestling Noah's
Go Shiozaki to a 30-minute time limit draw and thus missed the finals of the tournament by a single point.[30][31] The draw with Shiozaki led to a no time limit match at a Pro Wrestling Noah show on August 22, where Nakamura was defeated.[32] Despite losing to Goto in a number one contender's match on October 11, Nakamura was hand-picked by new IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima as his first challenger.[33] The title match took place on December 11 and ended with Nakamura losing.[34]
On January 4, 2011, Nakamura avenged his loss to Go Shiozaki by defeating him in a singles match at
Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome.[35][36] On May 3, Nakamura failed in his attempt to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi.[37] From late May to early June, Nakamura worked a tour with Mexican promotion
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), whom New Japan had a working agreement with.[38] On August 1, Nakamura entered the
2011 G1 Climax and after winning seven out of his nine-round robin stage matches finished first in his block to advance to the finals of the tournament. On August 14, Nakamura defeated
Tetsuya Naito to win the 2011 G1 Climax and earn another shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.[39] Nakamura went on to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on September 19, but he failed to recapture the title from Tanahashi.[40] In the
2011 G1 Tag League, Nakamura teamed with Toru Yano as the Chaos Top Team, winning all five of their group stage matches, advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament with a clean sheet.[41] On November 6, Nakamura and Yano were eliminated from the tournament in the semi-finals by the team of
Lance Archer and
Minoru Suzuki.[42] On January 4, 2012, at
Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, the Chaos Top Team was defeated by Pro Wrestling Noah representatives Go Shiozaki and
Naomichi Marufuji.[43]
IWGP Intercontinental Champion (2012–2016)
On July 22, Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto to win the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the first time.[44] In August's
2012 G1 Climax tournament, Nakamura wrestled in the same block as fellow Chaos member and recent IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Kazuchika Okada. The two stablemates faced each other on August 5, with Nakamura picking up the win, effectively solidifying his spot as the leader of Chaos in the process.[45] After four wins and three losses, Nakamura was defeated in the final day of the tournament by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and was thus eliminated from the finals, failing to defend his crown.[46] On August 26, Nakamura traveled to the United States to make his first successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, defeating Oliver John at a Sacramento Wrestling Federation (SWF) event in
Gridley, California.[47][48] The following day, Nakamura threw the
ceremonial first pitch at a
Major League Baseball game between the
Texas Rangers and
Tampa Bay Rays in
Arlington, Texas.[49] On October 8 at
King of Pro-Wrestling, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a rematch against Hirooki Goto.[50][51] On November 11 at
Power Struggle, Nakamura made his third successful defense against
Karl Anderson.[52][53] From November 20 to December 1, Nakamura took part in the round-robin portion of the
2012 World Tag League, alongside stablemate
Tomohiro Ishii under the tag team name Chaos Invincible.[54] The team finished with a record of three wins, which included a win over stablemates Kazuchika Okada and
Yoshi-Hashi[55] as well as three losses, failing to advance from their block.[56][57] On January 4, 2013, at
Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, Nakamura defeated
Kazushi Sakuraba for his fourth successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[58][59] From January 18 to 19, Nakamura took part in the
Fantastica Mania 2013 weekend, co-promoted by New Japan and CMLL. In the main event of the second night, Nakamura made his fifth successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against
La Sombra.[60] In early 2013, Nakamura became involved in Chaos' rivalry with New Japan's other top villainous stable,
Suzuki-gun.[61] On March 3 at New Japan's 41st anniversary event, Nakamura defeated Suzuki-gun's Lance Archer for his sixth successful title defense.[62] On April 5, Nakamura and Ishii unsuccessfully challenged
KES (Archer and
Davey Boy Smith Jr.) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[63] Two days later at
Invasion Attack, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Smith, avenging the previous loss from the first round of the New Japan Cup.[64][65] On May 3 at
Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Nakamura defeated Suzuki-gun's newest member
Shelton X Benjamin for his eighth successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[66][67]
On May 11, Nakamura left for another tour with Mexican promotion CMLL.[68] His first match back in Mexico took place the following day, when he teamed with
El Felino and
Negro Casas in a
six-man tag teamtwo out of three falls match at
Arena Coliseo, where they were defeated by
Máscara Dorada,
Rush and
Titán.[69] Nakamura quickly started a rivalry with La Sombra and after suffering two
pinfall defeats in six-man tag team matches on April 17 and 24 accepted his challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, setting up a Fantastica Mania 2013 rematch between the two.[70][71] The match took place on May 31 and saw Nakamura once again losing to La Sombra for the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, ending his reign at 313 days and eight successful title defenses.[72][73][74][75] Nakamura wrestled his final match of the tour on June 9, when he was defeated by Rush in a
singles match.[76] Nakamura returned to New Japan on June 22 at
Dominion 6.22 in a
tag team match, where he and Tomohiro Ishii were defeated by Minoru Suzuki and Shelton X Benjamin, who
pinned Nakamura for the win.[77] On July 20, Nakamura regained the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from La Sombra, becoming the first multi-time holder of the title.[78] From August 1 to 11, Nakamura took part in the
2013 G1 Climax.[79] Finishing with a record of five wins and four losses, Nakamura narrowly failed to advance to the finals after losing to Shelton X Benjamin on the final day.[80][81] On September 29 at
Destruction, Nakamura defeated Benjamin to make the first successful defense of his second reign as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion.[82] His second successful defense took place on October 14 at
King of Pro-Wrestling, when he defeated Pro Wrestling Noah representative Naomichi Marufuji.[83] On November 9 at
Power Struggle, Nakamura made his third successful title defense against Minoru Suzuki in a match which had the added stipulation that Nakamura would have had to join Suzuki-gun had he lost the title. Post-match, Nakamura nominated Hiroshi Tanahashi as his next challenger, setting up the first title match between the two longtime rivals in over two years.[84] From November 23 to December 7, Nakamura and Ishii took part in the
2013 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss against Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma on the final day costing them a spot in the semi-finals.[85][86]
On January 4, 2014, Nakamura lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Tanahashi in the main event of
Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome.[87][88] A rematch between the two took place on February 9 at
The New Beginning in Hiroshima and saw Nakamura fail in his attempt to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[89][90] In March, Nakamura took part in the
2014 New Japan Cup, which he eventually won, defeating
Bad Luck Fale in the finals on March 23 and afterwards challenged Tanahashi to another rematch for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[91] On April 6 at
Invasion Attack 2014, Nakamura defeated Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the third time.[92][93] The following month, Nakamura took part in NJPW's North American tour, defeating
Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestler
Kevin Steen in an interpromotional match on May 17 at
War of the Worlds.[94] On May 25 at
Back to the Yokohama Arena, Nakamura made the first successful defense of his third reign as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion against Daniel Gracie.[95][96] On June 21 at
Dominion 6.21, Nakamura lost the title to Bad Luck Fale in his second defense.[97][98] In the
2014 G1 Climax, Nakamura won his block with eight wins and two losses, advancing to the finals.[99][100] On August 10, Nakamura was defeated in the finals by Chaos stablemate Kazuchika Okada.[101][102] On September 21 at
Destruction in Kobe, Nakamura regained the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Bad Luck Fale.[103][104] He made his first successful title defense on November 8 at
Power Struggle against Katsuyori Shibata.[105] From November 23 to December 5, Nakamura took part in the
2014 World Tag League alongside Tomohiro Ishii.[106] The team finished second in their block with a record of four wins and three losses, narrowly missing the finals of the tournament due to losing to Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata on the final day.[107] On January 4, 2015, at
Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, Nakamura made his second successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against
Kota Ibushi.[108][109] His third defense took place on February 14 at
The New Beginning in Sendai, where Nakamura defeated
Yuji Nagata.[110] Nakamura's fourth title reign ended on May 3 at
Wrestling Dontaku 2015, where he was defeated by Goto.[111] Nakamura received a rematch for the title on July 5 at
Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, but he was again defeated by Goto.[112][113]
From July 23 to August 15, Nakamura took part in the round-robin stage of the
2015 G1 Climax.[114] Despite missing one match due to an elbow injury,[115] Nakamura won his block and advanced to the finals by defeating reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion and Chaos stablemate Kazuchika Okada in his last round-robin match, giving him a record of seven wins and two losses.[116] On August 16, Nakamura was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Hiroshi Tanahashi.[117][118] On September 27 at
Destruction in Kobe, Nakamura defeated Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time; this would remain the record for most reigns until
Tetsuya Naito became a six-time champion in 2020.[119][120][121] He made his first successful title defense on November 7 at
Power Struggle against Karl Anderson,[122] avenging an earlier loss from the 2015 G1 Climax.[123] He made his second successful defense on January 4, 2016, by defeating
A.J. Styles at
Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome.[124] Hours after the event, it was reported that Nakamura had given his notice to NJPW on the morning of January 4, announcing that he was leaving the promotion for WWE.[125][126] Nakamura remained under NJPW contract and was expected to finish off his contracted dates with the promotion before leaving.[127][128] On January 12, NJPW confirmed Nakamura's upcoming departure, announcing he would also be stripped of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[129][130] Nakamura handed in the title on January 25, officially ending his fifth reign.[131][132] Nakamura wrestled his last match under his NJPW contract on January 30, where he, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata.[133]
Before Nakamura's departure from NJPW, ROH had announced that he would be appearing at their
14th Anniversary Show in
Las Vegas as part of ROH's cross-promotion deal with NJPW, but ROH was forced to pull him from the event due to Nakamura signing an exclusive WWE contract.[134]
On January 6, 2016, Nakamura confirmed in an interview with Tokyo Sports that he would be leaving NJPW at the end of the month and signing with
WWE.[136][137] On January 27, WWE officially announced that Nakamura would be taking part in the
NXT TakeOver: Dallas event.[138] On January 31, Nakamura was confirmed to have finished his NJPW commitments and was said to be reporting to the
WWE Performance Center for training and handling logistical matters regarding his move to the company.[139] On February 2, Nakamura arrived in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to undergo pre-contract signing medical tests.[140] On February 22, WWE held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan to officially announce the signing of Nakamura to
NXT.[141][142] On April 1, Nakamura defeated
Sami Zayn in his debut match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a critically acclaimed match.[143] On the April 13 episode of NXT, Nakamura defeated
Tye Dillinger in his NXT television debut.[144]
On the May 25 episode of NXT, Austin Aries declared his intention to become the next
NXT Champion, which prompted a response from Nakamura, and NXT general manager
William Regal then scheduled a match between the two on June 8 at
NXT TakeOver: The End,[145] which Nakamura won.[146] On the June 15 episode of NXT, Nakamura challenged former NXT Champion
Finn Bálor to a match that was accepted[147] and won by Nakamura on the July 13 episode of NXT.[148] On August 20 at
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Nakamura defeated
Samoa Joe to win the NXT Championship for the first time.[149] On November 19 at
NXT TakeOver: Toronto, Nakamura lost the title to Joe in his first defense, marking his first televised loss in NXT.[150] On the December 28 episode of NXT from Osaka, Japan, Nakamura would regain the NXT Championship from Samoa Joe.[151] On the January 4, 2017, episode of NXT, he successfully defended the championship against Joe in a
steel cage match.[152] On January 28 at
NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Nakamura lost the championship to
Bobby Roode.[153] In his return match on March 8, Nakamura defeated
T. J. Perkins and was put into a rematch to face Roode for the NXT Championship on April 1 at
NXT TakeOver: Orlando,[154] but he was unsuccessful in reclaiming the championship.[155][156] On the April 12 episode of NXT, Nakamura made his final NXT appearance, bidding farewell to the
Full Sail University crowd.[157]
WWE Championship pursuits (2017–2018)
On the April 4 episode of SmackDown Live, the first episode after
WrestleMania 33, Nakamura made his main roster debut, interrupting
The Miz and
Maryse following their promo mocking
John Cena and
Nikki Bella; however this did not spark a feud between Nakamura and Miz, since Miz would be traded to Raw because of the
Superstar Shake-up, though the two would have a short feud in 2023.[158] Nakamura began feuding with
Dolph Ziggler, whom he defeated in his televised in-ring debut at
Backlash on May 21.[159] On the May 23 episode of SmackDown Live, it was announced that Nakamura along with
AJ Styles,
Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler,
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn would compete in the
Money in the Bank ladder match at
Money in the Bank on June 18,[160] during which Corbin attacked him with both a ladder and a camera while making his entrance.[161] Nakamura was checked on by medical staff and carried out of the arena, but he later returned during the match and attacked all other participants, only to lose the match when Corbin retrieved the briefcase.[162] At
Battleground on July 23,[163] Nakamura defeated Corbin by disqualification after Corbin attacked him with a
low blow.[164] Two days later on SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Corbin in a rematch to end their feud.[165] On the August 1 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated
John Cena[166] to earn the right to challenge
Jinder Mahal for the
WWE Championship on August 20 at
SummerSlam,[167] where Nakamura lost after interference from
The Singh Brothers and marking his first pinfall loss on the main roster.[168] On the September 5 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated
Randy Orton[169] to earn another title shot against Mahal for the title[170] at
Hell in a Cell on October 8, where he lost again.[171] On the October 31 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens to earn a spot on Team SmackDown at
Survivor Series on November 19,[172] where he was the first man to be eliminated by
Braun Strowman in the
5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match against
Team Raw.[173] At
Clash of Champions on December 17, Nakamura teamed up with Randy Orton in a losing effort against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who retained their jobs with
Daniel Bryan and
Shane McMahon serving as special guest referees.[174] On the inaugural episode of Mixed Match Challenge on January 16, 2018, Nakamura teamed with
Natalya in the Mixed Match Challenge tournament, but the duo was defeated by Finn Bálor and
Sasha Banks in the first round.[175]
On January 28 at the
Royal Rumble, Nakamura would enter the
namesake match at number 14 and go on to win the men's
Royal Rumble match after last eliminating
Roman Reigns.[176][177][178] Immediately afterwards, Nakamura announced that he would challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at
WrestleMania 34 on April 8,[179] where he lost to Styles.[180] After the match, Nakamura turned
heel by attacking Styles with a low blow followed by a Kinshasa.[181] On the following episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura said in an interview that he got "too emotional" and was "sorry" for attacking Styles, but when asked to explain more, he sarcastically said "Sorry, no speak English".[182] Later that night, Nakamura cemented his heel turn by attacking Styles and Daniel Bryan, low blowing Styles twice and striking Bryan in the back of the head with a Kinshasa.[183] Nakamura continued to low blow Styles in the following weeks[184][185] and it was announced that he would get a rematch for the title at the
Greatest Royal Rumble.[186] On the April 24 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura debuted a new entrance and theme song.[187] At the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, Styles and Nakamura fought to a double count-out, with Styles retaining the WWE Championship.[188] As a result, another rematch between Nakamura and Styles was made for
Backlash[189] with a
no disqualification stipulation added on the May 1 episode of SmackDown Live.[190] At the event on May 6, Nakamura and Styles fought to a no contest after low blowing each other, with Styles again retaining the title.[191] Looking for a decisive winner, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced one more rematch between Nakamura and Styles at
Money in the Bank.[192] Nakamura was granted the right to choose the stipulation for the match after defeating Styles on the May 15 episode of SmackDown Live,[193] which he revealed the following week, to be a
Last Man Standing match after attacking Styles with a Kinshasa and
giving him a 10-count.[194] At the event on June 17, Nakamura failed to win the title.[195] Nakamura then suffered a minor injury after a
police dog bit his left leg.[196]
United States Champion (2018–2019)
On July 3, it was announced that Nakamura would return in time to face
Jeff Hardy for the
WWE United States Championship at
Extreme Rules.[197] At the event on July 15, Nakamura won the title by executing a low blow and Kinshasa on Hardy, marking his first main roster title win; Nakamura was then confronted by the returning
Randy Orton, who attacked Hardy before leaving.[198] Nakamura would successfully defend the title in a rematch against Hardy at
SummerSlam on August 19.[199] On the August 27 episode of SmackDown Live, Nakamura would later refuse to compete, claiming that the United States of America had been renamed Naka-Merica and that he would not face anyone until he found a worthy opponent.[200] After refusing to defend the WWE United States Championship at the
Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on September 16, general manager
Paige ordered Nakamura to defend the championship on the September 18 episode of SmackDown Live, which he did so successfully, defeating
Rusev. At
SmackDown 1000, Nakamura lost to the returning
Rey Mysterio in a qualifying match for the
WWE World Cup at
Crown Jewel.[201] It was announced that Nakamura would defend the title against Rusev at Crown Jewel's kickoff show on November 2,[202] in which he successfully retained.[203] Nakamura lost to Raw's
WWE Intercontinental ChampionSeth Rollins in an interbrand Champion vs Champion match at Survivor Series on November 18.[204] On the December 25 episode of SmackDown Live (taped on December 18), Nakamura lost the WWE United States Championship to Rusev, ending his reign at 156 days.[205]
On January 27, 2019, at the
Royal Rumble, Nakamura defeated Rusev to win his second WWE United States Championship.[206] Later that night, he participated in the Royal Rumble match entering at No. 3 but was eliminated by
Mustafa Ali.[207] Two days later on SmackDown Live, Nakamura lost the title to R-Truth. Rusev then confronted Truth and pushed him into a title match, but Truth retained the title. After the match, Nakamura joined forces with Rusev into attacking Truth, starting an alliance between the two.[208] At the
Fastlane pre-show on March 2, Nakamura and Rusev were defeated by
The New Day.[209] At
WrestleMania 35 on April 7, Nakamura and Rusev would compete in a
fatal four-way tag team match for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful.[210] The duo returned during the 51-Man Battle Royal at
Super ShowDown on June 7, but they were both eliminated during the match.[211]
At
Royal Rumble on January 26, Nakamura entered the Royal Rumble match at No. 11 but was eliminated by WWE Champion
Brock Lesnar.[219] On the January 31 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura lost the Intercontinental Championship to
Braun Strowman, ending his reign at 201 days.[220] At
Elimination Chamber on March 8,
Sami Zayn, along with Nakamura and Cesaro, defeated Braun Strowman in 3-on-1 handicap match for the Intercontinental Championship; Zayn won by pinning Strowman.[221][222] Nakamura, Zayn and Cesaro then began feuding with
Daniel Bryan and
Drew Gulak, and on the first night of
WrestleMania 36 on April 4, Zayn defeated Bryan to retain the Intercontinental Championship with the help of Nakamura and Cesaro.[223] Nakamura began teaming with Cesaro more frequently as they feuded with
New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. On the July 10 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura and Cesaro challenged New Day for the titles, but the match ended in a no contest with Cesaro and Nakamura putting
Kofi Kingston and
Big E through a table.[224] On July 19 at
The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Nakamura and Cesaro defeated Kingston and Big E in a tables match to capture the titles, marking Nakamura's first tag team title in WWE.[225] During the
2020 WWE Draft episode of SmackDown on October 9, they lost the titles to The New Day's Kofi Kingston and
Xavier Woods.[226] On the
2020 WWE Draft episode of Raw on October 12, they got drafted to SmackDown as the 19th pick.[227]
Championship pursuits (2021–2022)
On the January 8, 2021, episode of SmackDown, Nakamura competed in a gauntlet match to determine the challenger for the
WWE Universal Championship at the
Royal Rumble, defeating
Rey Mysterio,
King Corbin, and
Daniel Bryan, the latter of whom he proceeded to shake hands with following Bryan's loss, before he lost to
Adam Pearce after being assaulted by champion
Roman Reigns and
Jey Uso, turning
face for the first time since 2018.[228] The following week, Nakamura reverted to his original theme song for his entrance and cemented his face turn by insulting Jey Uso before defeating him in a match.[229] At
Royal Rumble on January 31, Nakamura entered No. 7 before he was eliminated by King Corbin.[230] In March, Nakamura would be involved in
Cesaro's feud with
Seth Rollins after Rollins took Cesaro out of action. This led to a match between Nakamura and Rollins at
Fastlane on March 21, where Nakamura lost to Rollins.[231]
On the May 14 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura lost to King Corbin, and attacked him after the match before stealing his crown, starting a feud between the two.[232] The next week,
Rick Boogs became an ally of Nakamura, playing the guitar for him during his entrance.[233] On the June 18 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura defeated Corbin in a "Battle for the Crown" match to become the new King.[234] Now known as "King Nakamura", he defeated Corbin on the July 9 episode of SmackDown to qualify for Money in the Bank on July 18.[235] At the event, Nakamura failed to win the match.[236] On the August 13 episode of SmackDown, Nakamura defeated
Apollo Crews to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his career.[237] He would have his only title defense as he retained over Crews in a rematch on the September 24 episode of SmackDown.[238] On the October 8 episode of SmackDown, just prior to the start of the
King of the Ring tournament that night, Nakamura relinquished the crown.[239] At
Survivor Series on November 21, Nakamura defeated United States Champion Damian Priest by disqualification in a champion vs. champion match.[240] On the February 18, 2022 (taped February 11)[241] episode of SmackDown, Nakamura lost the title to Sami Zayn, ending his reign at 189 days.[242]
On the first night of
WrestleMania 38 on April 2, Boogs and Nakamura faced
The Usos for the
SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.[243] On the June 3 episode of SmackDown, he teamed with Riddle to face the Usos for the titles, but lost.[244] He failed to qualify for Money in the Bank when he lost to Sami Zayn on the June 24 episode of SmackDown,[245] and in a last chance battle royal on the following episode of Raw.[246] On the August 12 episode of SmackDown, he faced
Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship in a losing effort.[247] On the October 18 episode, Nakamura made his first
NXT appearance in over five years as
Tony D'Angelo's hand-picked opponent against Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, whom he would end up defeating.[248]
Various feuds (2023–present)
After six months away from WWE programming, Nakamura made his return on the April 14, 2023, episode of SmackDown, defeating
Madcap Moss.[249] As part of the
2023 WWE Draft, Nakamura was drafted to the
Rawbrand.[250] On the May 29 episode of Raw, Nakamura defeated
Bronson Reed to qualify for the
Money in the Bankladder match, which was won by
Damian Priest.[251] On the August 7 episode of Raw, Nakamura teamed up with
Cody Rhodes and
World Heavyweight ChampionSeth "Freakin" Rollins to defeat
The Judgment Day (
Finn Bálor,
Damian Priest and
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) in a
six man tag team match. After the match, Nakamura attacked Rollins, turning
heel for the first time since 2021, and subsequently starting a feud with Rollins.[252] At
Payback, Nakamura faced Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in winning it.[253] He would have another title shot against Seth Rollins at
Fastlane in a
Last Man Standing match, where Nakamura once again failed to win, ending the feud in the process.[254] After his defeat at Fastlane,
Alpha Academy's
Akira Tozawa started a minor feud between his stable and Nakamura. Nakamura defeated Tozawa,
Otis, and
Chad Gable in successive episodes of Raw. At the same time, Nakamura appeared in pre-filmed promos, where he calls out a challenge to an unspecified wrestler. On the November 27 episode of Raw, Nakamura attacked
Cody Rhodes, spraying his face with mist.[255] The two would fight on the December 11 episode of Raw, with Rhodes winning by disqualification as Nakamura once again utilized the mist to blind Rhodes, with the latter being saved by the
Creed Brothers.[256] Nakamura would continue to torment Rhodes through promos, including a segmented entitled 'The American Nightmare Before Christmas' on the December 18 episode of Raw, which included Nakamura insulting Rhode's father,
Dusty Rhodes, leading to Rhodes attacking him backstage.[257]Finally, on the January 8, 2024 episode of Raw, Nakamura and Rhodes fought in a Street Fight match, with Rhodes defeating Nakamura and seemingly putting an end to the feud.[258]
Nakamura was an entrant in the
2024 Royal Rumble, where he entered 6th, surviving a total time of 20:51, before being eliminated by Cody Rhodes with zero eliminations. The two would face off in a Bull Rope match on the February 5 episode, where Rhodes would win once again, but Rhodes was then attacked by
Drew McIntyre, thus forming an alliance between McIntyre and Nakamura in the process.[259]
Along with fellow NJPW wrestler
Kazuchika Okada, Nakamura is featured in the Japanese music video directed by fashion designer, DJ and record producer
Nigo for
Pharrell Williams' song "
Happy", released in May 2014.[262] On May 27, 2014, Nakamura published an autobiography titled King of Strong Style: 1980–2014.[263] An English language version of the book was released by
Viz Media on August 7, 2018.[264] Nakamura made his first video game appearance as a playable character in King of Colosseum II in 2004,[265] Nakamura has been added in fourteen WWE games: WWE Tap Mania, WWE Mayhem, WWE Universe, WWE Undefeated, WWE Champions, WWE SuperCard, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, and WWE 2K24
Nakamura's theme was sampled on
Lil Uzi Vert's song "Nakamura" (Named after him), which appeared on Uzi's 2023 album Pink Tape.
Personal life
Nakamura resides in
Orlando, Florida.[266] He has been an avid surfer since 2003. He married Harumi Maekawa in September 2007.
^After winning the IGF's version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, also known as the IWGP 3rd Belt Championship, the title was unified with the NJPW sanctioned IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.
^After winning the NWF Heavyweight Championship, the title was unified with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.