Shinsuke Nakamura Comments On Wrestling For NOAH And Not NJPW

This past weekend a major dream match was announced as Pro Wrestling NOAH confirmed that WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura would be crossing the Forbidden Door to compete against Keiji Muto, also known as The Great Muta. It is an encounter that few people were expecting to hear about, as WWE rarely allows its talents to work for other promotions, plus Nakamura is typically associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, rather than NOAH.

However, when speaking to Tokyo Sports the "King Of Strong Style" explained that, "there's a reason to fight," as to why this match is able to happen. The previous encounters between Nakamura and Muta have typically taken place under the NJPW banner, with the only exception being a match between them for AJPW, but this one is part of Muta's retirement tour, which is seeing him compete for NOAH.

"Well...it's like Shinsuke Nakamura ... (The opponent) is Great Muta," he said. "I don't think about it because it's Noah or because it's New Japan. I'm not talking about that kind of dimension. I'm looking forward to it."

Even though it's rare that wrestlers from WWE compete outside the company, there is history with Pro Wrestling NOAH. At the Marufuji 20th Anniversary Celebration in 2018 the company allowed KENTA (then working as Hideo Itami) to compete as he faced Naomichi Marufuji. It is unknown whether this recent deal is another one-off example like that, or if a larger partnership is set to take place between the promotions in the future.