Shinsuke Nakamura Discusses Why He Left NJPW For WWE

– Speaking with Lillian Garcia at Ace Comic Con, Shinsuke Nakamura discussed his decision to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling for WWE. Nakamura discussed the decision in the video you can see below, saying that he wanted to find new challenges.

When asked why he decided to make the move, Nakamura said (per Wrestling Inc), “In Japan, I thought I accomplished everything. So, I tried other things. So, then in 2015, [I thought], what should I do next? At the time, my friend, who works in WWE, called me. Probably it’s time to challenge next. Then I [decided to join WWE]. So, I didn’t follow the WWE history, but I knew big names like Andre the Giant [and] Hulk Hogan, because they wrestled in Japan. When I was a kid, [it was] hard to watch WWE, because I needed to go to [the] video shop, [but] I didn’t have any money.”

Nakamura said he didn’t do any research into the company before he signed on, wanting instead to have an element of surprise about WWE.