Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Apollo Crews on the Aug. 13, 2021 episode of Friday Night SmackDown to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his WWE career. Unfortunately, since then “King” Nakamura has only defended the title once in his 150-day reign and hasn’t wrestled a match in any capacity since a Dec. 18 live event. Rick Boogs, who has been affiliated with Nakamura ever since jumping to the main roster, offered an update on the latest episode of Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast. Stay tuned for more updates on Nakamura’s status as they become available.
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“We’ve only had a couple of tag matches together and he suffered a hand injury that has kept him out for close to two months now, it seems like. I’m looking forward to him being healthy and cleared so we can kick some tail,” Boogs said (h/t Fightful). “From there, down the road, we’ll branch off, but I’m in no rush with that. There is a new approach, pairing up the seasoned vets with new up and comers and it’s obviously for a reason. It helps get more exposure, TV time, valuable insight. I don’t think he’d be as willing to help me out if I wasn’t with him, Strong Style Shred.”
Nakamura gave a recent interview with Tokyo Sports where he publicly pushed for WWE to work with New Japan and allow him to wrestle for his old promotion as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.ย
“I want to have a match in front of the fans who are waiting in Japan soon. It’s the 50th anniversary of New Japan. Through the company, I really wish I could cooperate,” Nakamura said. “The game is difficult, isn’t it? However, if you negotiate seriously, It may be somehow, but now it’s the situation like isolation and border measures. The risk is still high. It would be nice if the situation was calm and there was a TV program that would call me outside the match (laughs).”
This story is developing…
