With Nakamura And Styles Headed To WWE, What Will Their Roles Be?

Last week we reported on the rumor of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura heading to a WWE ring after giving New Japan their notice during Wrestle Kingdom 10. It appears that this is no longer a rumor, and is indeed very close to being confirmed especially after what went down on NJPW TV recently. During a special event called New Year’s Dash for their subscription based streaming service, NJPW had Bullet Club members AJ Styles and Kenny Omega face off against Nakamura and Yoshi Hashi. The match was well paced and had plenty of back and forth action, but the finish is what stood out most to me. Not only did Kenny Omega score a pinfall victory over Shinsuke Nakamura, but as he and AJ Styles were celebrating, he took it upon himself to attack Styles.

This lead to Omega essentially firing Styles from the Bullet Club, and declaring himself the new leader. After a monumental beat down, AJ Styles stayed in the ring and gave the audience what appeared to be a final bow, almost like he was silently acknowledging his imminent departure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZstehrfaxvI

Right after this happened, news leaked that New Japan also had plans to strip Nakamura of the Intercontinental Title, also acknowledging his departure. So what’s next? If these two are indeed headed to WWE, what will their roles be? What kind of feuds will they be involved in? Here’s my take on the direction that both men should take.

The easiest way to book a Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE is to build him fresh. Introduce him to the NXT audience and let him make his name there before shipping him up to the main roster. What better way to do that than with a fresh feud with another talent whose signing was just as big a deal a year or so ago. That’s right, the man formerly known as KENTA should be Nakamura’s first big feud in NXT. Triple H and co need to make an even bigger deal about signing Nakamura than they did with Hideo Itami (KENTA’s NXT gimmick) with the obvious intent of thrusting him straight into the main event scene. Itami, rather than being excited for his fellow countryman falls into a fit of rage, and attacks Nakamura during his first official outing at NXT, costing him the match in the process. This feud would practically book itself and could lead to MONTHS of compelling matches between the two.

As for AJ Styles, he’s already set. He could debut as early as the Royal Rumble and be entered into any singles title picture and make an impact. WWE is hurting for main event talent now with all the recent injuries, and Styles could be the perfect answer. I don’t know if I’d put him in the Seth Rollins role and let him chase a face Roman Reigns, or if I’d turn him face and give him a solid run at the US Title in hopes of re-restoring the importance the title has lost ever since it left John Cena’s waist. The Intercontinental Title picture is too murky as of right now, and adding him into that mix only serves to darken the waters even more. I’m thinking a dream feud for Styles though would be with Samoa Joe. They have a tremendous history together and could burn a WWE ring down with a properly built feud, and time to work a great match. In fact, they could provide us with the most intense rivalry in the new WWE era since Punk V Cena.

These two signings could be the single most important signings the WWE has made in quite sometime. Creative, Vince McMahon, Triple H, and whoever else is in charge needs to make sure that these two in particular are booked in meaningful, long-term feuds, because we know they can make them work. It’s no secret that New Japan has the best in ring product around right now, and just signing away two of their biggest draws won’t change that. The WWE is in a peculiar spot now, and one that could see a huge shift AWAY from their product if they botch these signings.

What do you think? How would you book Styles and Nakamura? Let us know in the comments!