Did Shinsuke Nakamura leave WWE?

The King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura has been absent from WWE television for a considerable amount of time. He was last seen fighting for the SmackDown World Cup in November and losing in the very first round to Santos Escobar. His performance against the Great Muta at NOAH New Year 2023 event added to speculation about The Artist shifting to greener pastures in Japan.

Let's rewind the clock to access Nakamura’s start-and-stop career. A prodigy of New Japan Pro Wrestling, The King of Strong Style impressed the higher-ups in WWE and signed with its developmental brand in 2016. He debuted on April 1 and defeated Sami Zayn at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a critically acclaimed match.

The NJPW sensation was promoted to the main roster rather quickly. Exactly a year after his NXT debut, he traded insults with The Miz and Maryse on the WrestleMania follow-up episode of WWE SmackDown.

Later, Baron Corbin and Shinsuke Nakamura got into a heated feud due to the former’s ambush on the latter during the Money in the Bank event.

Nakamura won the United States Championship at Extreme Rules 2018 by defeating Jeff Hardy. He won various other accolades in the next couple of years, including the US Title for the second time and the Intercontinental Championship. However, his gimmick ceased to amaze the crowd after some time and Shinsuke hit rock bottom in 2021.

Shinsuke Nakamura is still with WWE. His performance in a 'rival promotion', as Vince McMahon would have seen it, hasn’t changed his status in the Stamford-based company. The WWE SmackDown Superstar recently fought in a Fatal Five Way Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship as part of a Holiday Tour event on December 26, 2022. Gunther retained his title in a solid bout.

Nakamura’s last championship win was in August 2021 on an episode of SmackDown. He hasn’t been a constant contender for the gold since then. The Artist only needs a world title to complete the Grand Slam achievement – a rocky route considering how WWE is going all in with Roman Reigns’ Bloodline supremacy.

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Shinsuke Nakamura disclosed how Triple H running WWE has changed proceedings in the promotion

Shinsuke Nakamura expressed his amazement at Triple H’s decision to go forward with an inter-promotional match during an interview with Fightful. This was something that was considered taboo during Vince McMahon’s era as the former CEO had a competitive mindset rather than a collaborating one.

“It was something that would never have happened under the previous structure of the WWE,” said Shinsuke Nakamura. "NOAH came to me with the idea, and we discussed it, but my answer was no. Vince (McMahon) stepped down in the summer, and I was advised by people within the company that it might be possible now… I even talked directly to Triple H. When the decision was actually made, I was shaken.”

WWE could organize more inter-promotional matches in the near future, now that their former superstar Sasha Banks is with NJPW. Which WWE Superstar would you like to see lock horns with the best of the best in the industry?