Eron Ramadanov is a huge fan of New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is why he’s showcasing the biggest and brightest stars of Japan’s gold standard of wrestling starting with the “King of Strong Style”, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Like most American wrestling fans, I had never heard of New Japan Pro Wrestling before Wrestle Kingdom 9. It’s not like I didn’t like it, but I had never been exposed to it. When I clicked on the “order” button for WK9, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had heard things all week about how great this genre of wrestling is, so my expectations were high, but I was cautious about dedicating multiple hours to something that I wasn’t even sure I would like.
So, I sat and watch this event, and I was really enjoying it. The coolest thing about watching this show was that I didn’t really need to know the storylines behind each match, or where these wrestlers have been in the past because the wrestling spoke for itself and with Jim Ross and Matt Striker helping draw a better picture, I was hooked, almost instantly.
I was having so much fun watching this new type of wrestling, that I had never seen before. Leading into the final two matches, I thought I had seen a really really good match between two heavy hitters Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe for the NEVER Openweight Championship. This match was absolute insanity. After this stiff match, I was perfectly content if the show had ended there. But I was sadly mistaken, as the semi-main event raised the bar to another level between Kota Ibushi challenging the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. This match to this day is one of my favorite matches of all time, and is definitely my pick for the 2015 Wrestling Match of the Year.
Everything about Nakamura screamed superstar, yet I had never seen this guy before. From his hypnotizing entrance, to his unorthodox mannerisms, I knew instantly that this man was what professional wrestling was all about. So, the idea behind this NJPW spotlight series is to familiarize you with some of the best talent in the world, and give you an alternative to WWE, Impact Wrestling, etc.
As you can see, Shinsuke Nakamura is going to be first up on my list for one simple reason: I believe he’s currently the best wrestler in the world… period. Obviously, the ones who are not familar with him will disagree, but the ones who are familiar with him like I’ve become, will at least agree with me on the fact that he’s one of the best in the world, no doubts about it. This isn’t going to be some long, drawn out article about his career, because reading about someone’s wrestling ability isn’t the way that information should be taken in; it should be watched. So, I’m going to provide you with must see matches of Nakamura that will surely hook you to his work and the work of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Before I provide this list, here’s a quick list of accolades for the “King of Strong Style”:
- 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion
- 5-time (and current) IWGP Intercontinental Champion
- G1 Climax Tournament Winner (2011)
- New Japan Cup Winner (2014)
- Wrestling Observer’s “Wrestler of the Year” (2014)
- PWI ranked him #5 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
So, now that you know a little bit about Shinsuke Nakamura, here are some MUST-SEE matches of his:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Wrestle Kingdom 9 (2015)
As I stressed at the start, this match is a MUST-SEE. Sadly, I could not find the full match on YouTube, so the best I could do is find a highlights video, with some of the best moments of the match. But trust me, this highlight package doesn’t do the match justice.
Please, go out of your watch to find this match on the internet, or even go to NJPWWorld.com and subscribe to their streaming product, where you can watch the match there. New Japan World is exactly like the WWE Network, but solely for New Japan content. It’s well worth the subscription of about 8-9 dollars a month.
Instead of giving you my boring opinion on this match, here are some comments about this match from around the internet:
- “This match was just unbelievable. One of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen…” — Rajawalid68, YouTube.com
- “5 out of 5 stars.” — Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Revolution Pro Wrestling (2014)
This match is something special. Luckily, I was able to find this match for you guys in full. This match had a lot of cool dynamics to it. Firstly, the fact that the ring was smaller than Nakamura is used too, it added another level of difficulty for him and Sabre Jr.
Also, it was odd to see Nakamura get a bigger reaction than a hometown boy in Zack Sabre Jr., who in his own right is one of the best in the world. The love shown for Nakamura is proof how much people admire and adore this guy as a performer.
Here are some reactions from around the internet:
- “Zack Sabre Jr. is a very skillful wrestler! This match was an absolute joy.” — Nabil Tohoin, YouTube.com
- “This is what happens when two of the best in the world go at it.” — Luis Ramirez, YouTube.com
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson
New Japan Cup (2012)
Once again, I was lucky enough to find the full video for this match, as well. These two guys are New Japan staples, that have been around for a long time, especially during the recent rise of the product in the states. Anderson, at this time, was known more for being a tag-team wrestler, but in this match, during the New Japan Cup in 2012, Anderson pushed Nakamura to the absolute limit and beat the King of Strong Style in an absolute classic.
Here are some comments from the internet on this match:
- “What a bout. Respect to both competitors.” — Markus Kay, YouTube.com
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Steen
ROH War of the Worlds (2014)
There seems to be a trend here, where finding these classic Nakamura matches are hard to do. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you can find the full match, but just for the sake of getting your eyes on some of this match, there’s a nice highlights package at the top. This match is one of my personal favorites because these are two of my favorite performers. This match was physical and hard-hitting.
Here are some quotes on this match:
- “Shinsuke Nakamura: the best active wrestler in the world today!” — Jorge Gotto, YouTube.com
- “Two of the very best in pro wrestling today.” — Jake Ramos, YouTube.com
Honestly, I can do this all day long, giving you so many classic matches from the great, Shinsuke Nakamura. So for the sake of time, I’m going to list some other great matches that you should go out of your way to watch and some of my personal favorites.
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Wrestle Kingdom 8 (2014)
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kurt Angle – New Japan Pro Wrestling (2008)
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto – DONTAKU (2015)
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 24 Finals (2014)
Hopefully, you enjoyed some of these matches and are now hooked, like I am, to New Japan Pro Wrestling. Next time, we’ll be cover the “Rainmaker” of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Kazuchika Okada!
Thanks for reading, everyone!