Shinsuke Nakamura started with New Japan in 2002. Fittingly for a wrestler known as “The Artist” whose persona is a mix of Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury, Nakamura worked their Crossroads event on Aug. 29 of that year in Budokan Hall - a building more famous for the musical acts who’ve played there like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Prince and Diana Ross than for wrestling.
On Aug. 29 of 2017, his first year on WWE’s main roster, Nakamura was in the midst of the main title picture on SmackDown. He marked his 15th anniversary by taking the iconic finisher of the man he’ll battle next Tuesday for #1 contender status, Randy Orton.
And to paraphrase the slogan of one of Shinsuke’s main rivals in NXT, he did so gloriously...
#Aug29th ...15 years ago today in Japan. Shinsuke Nakamura debut at Nihon Budokan.
— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) August 30, 2017
Then 15 years later tonight,I ate this ... #RKO pic.twitter.com/A4rxJH7zLW
— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) August 30, 2017
Big fan of the look of surprise on his face when Orton grabs him. You and I know he shouldn’t be shocked that The Viper was about to strike, but it is supposed to be OUT OF NOWHERE. Shinsuke’s bouncing flop into corpse pose also really conveys the cutter as devastating without resorting to cartoonishness.
Good stuff.
And, oh yeah - happy belated anniversary!