Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura (中邑 真輔, Nakamura Shinsuke, born February 24, 1980) is an Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He currently works for WWE on the SmackDown brand. In New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, three-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and was the winner of the 2011 G1 Climax, 2006 G1 Tag League and 2014 New Japan Cup tournaments.

Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura during his time as IWGP Intercontinental Champion in 2015
Born	(1980-02-24) February 24, 1980 (age 45) Mineyama, Kyoto, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Banzai[1] King Nakamura Nakamura Shinsuke Nakamura
Billed height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Billed weight	104 kg (229 lb)
Trained by	Inoki Dojo NJPW Dojo Osamu Kido
Debut	August 29, 2002

At Invasion Attack 2014 on April 6, Nakamura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the third time in his career.^[2] On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, Nakamura was defeated by Bad Luck Fale for the championship.^[3] Nakamura took part in the 2014 G1 Climax. In his block, he was able to win eight times and only suffered two losses. He was able to make it to the finals but lost to his Chaos stablemate Kazuchika Okada on August 10.^[4]

In 2016, Nakamura joined WWE. He began on the NXT brand, where he became a two-time NXT Champion. On their main roster, he won the men's Royal Rumble match in 2018, the United States Championship three times, the Intercontinental Championship twice (making him the second wrestler after Chris Jericho to become WWE and IWGP Intercontinental Champion) and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with Cesaro.

Championships and accomplishments

Nakamura as IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He is a five-time and the longest reigning champion.

Nakamura as WWE Intercontinental Champion

• The Baltimore Sun
  • WWE Match of the Year (2016) vs. Sami Zayn at NXT TakeOver: Dallas^[5]
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • IWGP 3rd Belt Championship^[a] (1 time)^[6]
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship (5 times)
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[6]
  • IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship (1 time)^[6]
  • NWF Heavyweight Championship^[b] (1 time)^[6]
  • 10,000,000 Yen Tag Tournament (2004) – with Hiroyoshi Tenzan^[6]
  • G1 Climax (2011)
  • G1 Tag League (2006) – with Masahiro Chono
  • National District Tournament (2006) – with Koji Kanemoto^[7]
  • New Japan Cup (2014)
  • Teisen Hall Cup Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2003) – with Hiro Saito and Tatsutoshi Goto^[6]
  • Yuko Six Man Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with Blue Wolf and Katsuhiko Nakajima^[6]
  • Heavyweight Tag MVP Award (2005) with Hiroshi Tanahashi^[8]
  • New Wave Award (2003)^[9]
  • Tag Team Best Bout (2004) with Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Masahiro Chono on October 24^[10]
  • Technique Award (2004)^[10]
• Nikkan Sports
  • Match of the Year Award (2009) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi on November 8^[11]
  • Match of the Year Award (2014) vs. Kazuchika Okada on August 10^[12]
  • Outstanding Performance Award (2003)^[13]
  • Technique Award (2012)^[14]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2016)^[15]
  • Ranked No. 5 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015^[16]
• Tokyo Sports
  • Best Bout Award (2013) vs. Kota Ibushi on August 4^[17]
  • Best Bout Award (2014) vs. Kazuchika Okada on August 10^[18]
  • Best Bout Award (2023) vs. The Great Muta on Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling "Last" Love^[19][20]
  • Rookie of the Year Award (2003)^[21]
  • Technique Award (2012)^[22][23]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Charismatic (2014, 2015)^[24][25]
  • Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2015) vs. Kota Ibushi on January 4^[24]
  • Wrestler of the Year (2014)^[25]
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)^[26]
• WWE
  • NXT Championship (2 times)^[27]
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (2 times)^[28]
  • WWE United States Championship (3 times)^[29]
  • WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Cesaro^[30]
  • Men's Royal Rumble (2018)^[31]
  • NXT Year-End Award (2 times)
    • Male Competitor of the Year (2016)^[32]
    • Overall Competitor of the Year (2016)

Mixed martial arts record

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	3–1 (1)	Alexey Ignashov	Submission (forearm choke)	K-1 MMA ROMANEX	May 22, 2004	2	1:51	Saitama, Japan
NC	2–1 (1)	Alexey Ignashov	NC (overturned)	K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!!	December 31, 2003	3	1:19	Nagoya, Japan
Win	2–1	Shane Eitner	Submission (americana)	Jungle Fight 1	September 13, 2003	1	4:29	Manaus, Brazil
Win	1–1	Jan Nortje	Submission (guillotine choke)	NJPW Ultimate Crush	May 2, 2003	2	3:12	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	0–1	Daniel Gracie	Submission (armbar)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002	December 31, 2002	2	2:14	Saitama, Japan

Footnotes

1. After winning the IGF's version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, also known as the IWGP 3rd Belt Championship, the title was unified with the NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.
2. After winning the NWF Heavyweight Championship, the title was unified with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Nakamura also held at the time.