Newly crowned WWE NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard about various topics. As seen throughout his career, Nakamura has a strongly defined character, which was influenced by former wrestlers with fierce and animated characters.
“My inspirations were ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and Andre the Giant,” said Nakamura. “It was easy to understand their character.”
Back on April 1st at NXT Takeover: Dallas, Nakamura made his WWE NXT debut against Sami Zayn, which was was their first time working together.
“We had good chemistry,” Nakamura admitted. “He’s another real wrestler. That was my first time wrestling Sami Zayn, but I quickly learned he’s a great wrestler.”
For those unaware, Nakamura and Kenny Omega were scheduled to feud in NJPW right before Nakamura’s departure for WWE, and he paid close attention to Omega’s big win in the 2016 G1 Climax tournament.
“Kenny did a good job, and I want to say congratulations to him,” said Nakamura. “I know the feeling. He wrestles to take care of the company, for the fans, and to take care of his opponent. He’s always looking for new ideas, so I can really relate to him.”
Nakamura also talked about Samoa Joe and more. The full interview is available at this link.
