A long time ago in a promotion far, far away from Stamford, CT, two men were allowed to wrestle to their absolute potential. Rather than saddling them with badly scripted promos from 20-something Hollywood wannabe writers and low blowing one of their talent an absurd amount of times, New Japan Pro Wrestling simply gave Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles time to go out and tell a story through their actions. The catch in this whole situation is that both men were on their way out of the promotion. Shinsuke Nakamura, an NJPW legend at this point, was wearing the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for a 5th time. AJ Styles, a former TNA legend and leader of the popular Bullet Club stable, was similarly heading to the WWE.
In WWE, this match would have never happened. You can imagine what Vince McMahon would do: throw a third person in the match to win the championship, add a referee to beat up both men, or have both men get destroyed prior to the match to set up a new title match. Instead, New Japan kept their advertised match and gave the wrestling world what they wanted. And that really needs to be remembered going into this match.
So, what happens when AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura wrestle without obsessive control from promoters? Let's find out.
Wrestle Kingdom 10
1/4/2016
Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. AJ Styles
AJ comes out with a cloth Bullet Club mask on. And here comes Shinsuke Nakamura in what I believe is his final singles match in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Great ovation for Shinsuke.
The bell rings. Both men jockey for the advantage early on, trading holds back and forth until we get a standoff. Nakamura goes for the arm, but AJ gets to the rope. They go back at it again. Styles Clash and the Bomaye are avoided by both men. Nakamura does the rope break with the loose arms. Styles shoots an imaginary gun at Nakamura. Nakamura grabs the bullet, eats it, and smiles. (I guess it was delicious.) The classic AJ Styles Dropdown into a Dropkick happens next. Nakamura follows that with a kick to the face and knee to the chest. 5 minutes.
Knee strikes by Nakamura and AJ gets thrown off the corner. He starts selling his back, which had him out for a few weeks by this point. Styles takes advantage of Nakamura turning away and pounces on him. Running Knee Drop by Styles to Nakamura's face. Reverse STF by Styles to Nakamura. But Nakamura gets to the ropes. Styles continues the onslaught in the ring. Backbreaker by Nakamura sends Styles to the floor. Nakamura rams Styles into the guard rail on the floor. Both men return to the ring. Kicks and an Enziguri by Nakamura. Good Vibrations in the corner. More knee strikes. We have passed ten minutes as a suplex faceplant is delivered to Styles. This is followed up by the running knee in the corner straight up into the back of Styles!
Nakamura continues to work the back of Styles, but he misses a knee in the corner. PHENOMENAL FOREARM BY AJ STYLES! AJ sells the back and goes to work on Nakamura. Nakamura gets suplexed into the corner but only after Styles sold the back a few times. Spinning leg whip by Nakamura. Lungblower and Reverse Suplex by Nakamura. Bomaye misses. Calf Killer by Styles, but Nakamura rolls over into an armbar. Styles is able to escape. Moonsault DDT misses, but AJ decks Nakamura instead. Torture Rack into a Powerbomb by Styles. 2 count at the 15 minute mark.
Styles Clash is avoided. Bomaye is avoided. Jumping Bomaye off the middle rope by Nakamura! Both men exchange blows in the center of the ring. Faceplant by Styles into a roll-up! 1-2-KICKOUT! Styles fires off with a bunch of shots. PELE KICK BY STYLES IS MET WITH A BOMAYE BY NAKAMURA! 1-2-KICKOUT!!! Crucifix Roll-Up by Styles FOLLOWED BY A BOMAYE BY STYLES!!! 450 BY STYLES!!!! 1-2-KICKOUT BY NAKAMURA!!! 20 minutes have passed.
Styles and Nakamura continue to fight back and forth. Floatover into the Armbar by Nakamura! Nakamura grabs the leg of Styles while doing the armbar in order to keep Styles from the ropes! Styles gets on his feet! STYLES CLASH! 1-2-KICKOUT BY NAKAMURA!!! Styles hits Bloody Sunday! Nakamura blocks a second Styles Clash. Styles goes for it again, but he takes Nakamura to the corner. Styles climbs the corner and moves Nakamura into position to HIT IT OFF THE CORNER!!!!! Nakamura kicks Styles in the head! LANDSLIDE OFF THE CORNER!!!!! 1-2-STYLES KICKS OUT! Nakamura gets up in the corner! BOMAYE TO THE BACK OF STYLES'S HEAD!!! ANOTHER BOMAYE FLIPS STYLES OVER!!!! 1-2-3!!!!
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Match Grade: A. Another incredible match for Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom. This proves the fact that Nakamura and Styles can have a great match when given an opportunity to tell an in-ring story. The opening few minutes did a good job of laying the foundation for what the last ten minutes provided: a hard-hitting tense confrontation where either man could have won. If I'm being honest, though, I still would put the Kota Ibushi vs. Nakamura match from Wrestle Kingdom IX ahead of this one. But this was, as I said, another incredible match.
After the match, Styles and Nakamura fist bump respect for the other. Nakamura does his "YeaOH!" pose before getting out of the ring.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Styles and Nakamura would go on to WWE by the end of the month. Styles, as of 2/1/19, is a multi-time WWE Champion and arguable face of SmackDown, having had multiple great matches with its top stars. Nakamura started off in NXT, WWE's third brand/developmental system, and was a 2x NXT Champion. On the main roster, Nakamura has had a decidedly mixed experience. On one hand, he's a former 2x United States Champion and 2018 Royal Rumble winner. But he lost every WWE Championship opportunity he had, losing to Jinder Mahal multiple times on top of that. Plus, there's been weeks where Nakamura has gone MIA from WWE programming. So, it's clear that Styles has had the better WWE experience of the two. But who knows what the future holds for the King of Strong Style in (or out of... :) ) WWE?
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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