Shinsuke Nakamura has not been approached about attending NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

During the press conference for Nakamura versus Muta, Keiji Muto asked Shinsuke if he's going to be at Wrestle Kingdom 17

Photo Courtesy: WWE

Nakamura does not plan on attending the show. 

On the lead up to Shinsuke Nakamura versus The Great Muta (Keiji Muto) at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s ‘The New Year’ event, there was a press conference held with the two talents. 

As they were taking questions, Keiji Muto asked Shinsuke if he is going to be at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 while he’s in Japan. Nakamura stated that he unfortunately has not been approached about it and is not planning on attending. 

No, I don’t plan to [attend NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17]… I haven’t been approached about it, unfortunately (laughs).

Circling back around to the topic of Nakamura versus Muta, Shinsuke recalled the reactions from those in WWE when they saw the announcement. He said people could not believe it and he received positive feedback from the production crew as well. 

They didn’t believe it [when they saw the Nakamura versus Muta announcement]. They asked me, ‘When did you do this picture (the fight card image on social media)?’ They said, ‘You did it a long time ago, didn’t you?’ I said, ‘No, no.’ When I told them, ‘No, no, we’re doing this one in January,’ their jaws almost dropped. Also, some of the wrestlers grew up watching The Great Muta during his WCW and NWA days, so they were really excited. Even the staff members who were involved in the set-up and lighting were excited. I knew that something great had happened. Even people who normally talk to me but don’t talk about wrestling reacted well.

Muto is going to be at Wrestle Kingdom 17 as he’ll be competing in what is being billed as his last New Japan match. To get a look at the lineup for NJPW’s biggest show of the year, click here.

About Andrew Thompson 8005 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.