Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura during his time as IWGP Intercontinental Champion in 2015
Born	(1980-02-24) February 24, 1980 (age 44) Mineyama, Kyoto, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Banzai[1] King Nakamura Nakamura Shinsuke Nakamura
Billed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Billed weight	104 kg (229 lb)
Trained by	Inoki Dojo NJPW Dojo Osamu Kido
Debut	August 29, 2002

Shinsuke Nakamura (中邑 真輔, Nakamura Shinsuke, born February 24, 1980) is an Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He currently works for WWE on the SmackDown brand. In New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, three-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and was the winner of the 2011 G1 Climax, 2006 G1 Tag League and 2014 New Japan Cup tournaments.

At Invasion Attack 2014 on April 6, Nakamura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the third time in his career.^[2] On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Nakamura was defeated by Bad Luck Fale for the championship.^[3] Nakamura took part in the 2014 G1 Climax. In his block, he was able to win eight times and only suffered two losses. He was able to make it to the finals but lost to his Chaos stablemate Kazuchika Okada on August 10.^[4]

In 2016, Nakamura joined WWE. He began on the NXT brand, where he became a two-time NXT Champion. On their main roster, he won the men's Royal Rumble match in 2018, the United States Championship three times, the Intercontinental Championship twice (making him the second wrestler after Chris Jericho to become WWE and IWGP Intercontinental Champion) and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Cesaro.

Championships

Nakamura as IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He is a five-time and the longest reigning champion.

Nakamura as WWE Intercontinental Champion

• The Baltimore Sun
  • WWE Match of the Year (2016) vs. Sami Zayn at NXT TakeOver: Dallas^[5]
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • IWGP 3rd Belt Championship^[a] (1 time)^[6]
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship (5 times)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[6]
  • IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship (1 time)^[6]
  • NWF Heavyweight Championship^[b] (1 time)^[6]
  • 10,000,000 Yen Tag Tournament (2004) – with Hiroyoshi Tenzan^[6]
  • G1 Climax (2011)
  • G1 Tag League (2006) – with Masahiro Chono
  • National District Tournament (2006) – with Koji Kanemoto^[7]
  • New Japan Cup (2014)
  • Teisen Hall Cup Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2003) – with Hiro Saito and Tatsutoshi Goto^[6]
  • Yuko Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Blue Wolf and Katsuhiko Nakajima^[6]
  • Heavyweight Tag MVP Award (2005) with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[8]
  • New Wave Award (2003)^[9]
  • Tag Team Best Bout (2004) with Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Masahiro Chono on October 24^[10]
  • Technique Award (2004)^[10]
• Nikkan Sports
  • Match of the Year Award (2009) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on November 8^[11]
  • Match of the Year Award (2014) vs. Kazuchika Okada on August 10^[12]
  • Outstanding Performance Award (2003)^[13]
  • Technique Award (2012)^[14]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2016)^[15]
  • Ranked No. 5 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015^[16]
• Tokyo Sports
  • Best Bout Award (2013) vs. Kota Ibushi on August 4^[17]
  • Best Bout Award (2014) vs. Kazuchika Okada on August 10^[18]
  • Best Bout Award (2023) vs. The Great Muta on Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling "Last" Love^[19][20]
  • Rookie of the Year Award (2003)^[21]
  • Technique Award (2012)^[22][23]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Charismatic (2014, 2015)^[24][25]
  • Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2015) vs. Kota Ibushi on January 4^[24]
  • Wrestler of the Year (2014)^[25]
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)^[26]
• WWE
  • NXT Championship (2 times)^[27]
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (2 times)^[28]
  • WWE United States Championship (3 times, current)^[29]
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Cesaro^[30]
  • Men's Royal Rumble (2018)^[31]
  • NXT Year-End Award (2 times)
    • Male Competitor of the Year (2016)^[32]
    • Overall Competitor of the Year (2016)

Mixed martial arts record

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	3–1 (1)	Alexey Ignashov	Submission (forearm choke)	K-1 MMA ROMANEX	May 22, 2004	2	1:51	Saitama, Japan
NC	2–1 (1)	Alexey Ignashov	NC (overturned)	K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!	December 31, 2003	3	1:19	Nagoya, Japan
Win	2–1	Shane Eitner	Submission (americana)	Jungle Fight 1	September 13, 2003	1	4:29	Manaus, Brazil
Win	1–1	Jan Nortje	Submission (guillotine choke)	NJPW Ultimate Crush	May 2, 2003	2	3:12	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	0–1	Daniel Gracie	Submission (armbar)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002	December 31, 2002	2	2:14	Saitama, Japan

Footnotes

1. 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's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.
2. After winning the NWF Heavyweight Championship, the title was unified with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.

References

1. "Shinsuke Nakamura". WrestlingData. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
2. "Invasion Attack 2014". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2014.
3. "Dominion 6.21". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 10, 2014.
4. "バディファイトPresents G1 CLIMAX 24". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 10, 2014.
5. Oster, Aaron (December 31, 2016). "WWE 2016 end-of-year awards". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
6. "Puroresu Central profile". Puroresu Central. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
7. 11月17日(金)東京ドームシティ・ジオポリス. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 6, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
8. "2005 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
9. "2003 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
10. "2004 New Japan Awards". Strong Style Spirit. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
11. "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2009". wrestlingscout. February 28, 2016. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
12. "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2014". wrestlingscout. September 6, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
13. "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2003". wrestlingscout. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
14. "Nikkan Sports Awards - 2012". wrestlingscout. September 25, 2016. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
15. "PWI Awards". pwi-online.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
16. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
17. オカダ・カズチカが２年連続「プロレス大賞」ＭＶＰ！２５年ぶりの快挙. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). December 10, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
18. "オカダＶＳ中邑「プロレス大賞ベストバウト」は新日８・１０西武ドーム「Ｇ１決勝戦」". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). December 9, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
19. Currier, Joseph (December 12, 2023). "Tetsuya Naito wins 2023 Tokyo Sports MVP Award". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
20. Lafferriere, Nicolas (December 12, 2023). "Tokyo Sports premia a Tetsuya Naito como el mejor luchador del 2023". Solowrestling (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
21. "Rookie of the Year". Cagematch. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
22. 「２０１２年度プロレス大賞」受賞者. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
23. "【最年少タイ!!】オカダが『プロレス大賞』MVPを「あたりまえ」の初受賞!! ベストバウトはオカダvs棚橋！中邑は技能賞!!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). December 11, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
24. Meltzer, Dave (January 25, 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 16, 27. ISSN 1083-9593.
25. Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2015). "Jan. 26, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2014 awards issue w/ results & Dave's commentary, Conor McGregor, and much more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 1, 11. ISSN 1083-9593.
26. Meltzer, Dave (November 9, 2015). "November 9, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Hall of Fame Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 1. ISSN 1083-9593.
27. "NXT Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
28. "Intercontinental Championship". WWE.
29. "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
30. "WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship". Retrieved February 27, 2020.
31. Benigno, Anthony. "Shinsuke Nakamura won the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
32. Witner, Arya (January 28, 2017). "NXT TakeOver San Antonio live results: Nakamura vs. Roode". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 28, 2017.

Other websites

• Shinsuke Nakamura on Instagram
• Shinsuke Nakamura on Twitter
• Shinsuke Nakamura on IMDb 
• Shinsuke Nakamura on WWE.com