Could Shinsuke Nakamura Leave WWE After Contract Expires?

Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles were massive acquisitions for WWE in 2015. However, their contracts are set to expire soon. While Styles is expected to return, Nakamura may have his fair share of tempting suitors.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio discussed the possibility of Nakamura leaving WWE when his deal ends. Per Meltzer, New Japan is eager to get Nakamura back, but it's unclear if Nakamura shares that sentiment. The 38-year old lives with his family in Florida and is the current United States Champion, so things aren't exactly terrible.

"It wouldn't completely shock me. I know they do want him back," Meltzer said about Nakamura. "There will attempts [and] for all those guys. Gallows and Anderson, if they wanna go back there, they can go back there. They're kind of treading water [in WWE]. Who knows how that's gonna go." He added, "I don't anticipate anyone going back there [but] you just don't know how people feel and what people want out of life."

Nakamura's time in WWE has been a series of hits and misses. His physical style and eccentric character would take some adjusting, but since his WrestleMania heel turn, Nakamura looks to have found his sports entertainment groove.

Before his WrestleMania 34 match with Styles, Nakamura won the 2018 Royal Rumble — an accomplishment that cannot be overstated. But prior to that, The King of Strong Style struggled to bottle momentum on the main roster. Like most NXT call-ups, Nakamura had to find the right translation of his character upon being introduced to the WWE Audience. In NXT, Nakamura was a beloved pillar of the promotion, even hold the NXT Championship for an extended period. But as we've come to learn, success in NXT doesn't beget success in WWE.

But Nakamura's talent looks have overcome his NXT blues. While his four-consecutive WWE Championship losses to AJ Styles didn't help much, WWE's put the US Championship on him at their first chance.

chances are Nakamura keeps that title at SummerSlam in his prospective match against Randy Orton and possibly Jeff Hardy. There's also a possibility that Andrade "Cien" Almas makes his way into the picture as well, but at this point, we can expect the Us Championship match to include at least three Superstars.

It's impossible to know Nakamura's plans, but given his big 2018, and his growing relationship with WWE's crowd, it's hard to imagine him jetting from the company. with a new theme song and a resume that continues to stack WWE look to be behind Nakamura, and a contract extension seems like a logical assumption to make.

[H/T WrestlingNews.com]