New Japan Pro Wrestling celebrates their 50th year in 2022, and at least one NJPW alum is hoping to find a way to help them celebrate.
In an interview with Tokyo Sports, the current WWE Intercontinental Champion and former IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura told the outlet he hopes to be able to help the promotion that was his home for over a decade to celebrate this milestone.
It’s [NJPW’s] 50th anniversary. I hope that there is something I can do to help them through my company [WWE]. A match would be…difficult, but if they really try to negotiate… it might be possible, but right now, the situation is such that they are probably going to have to quarantine the [wrestlers] and take [border] measures. The risks are still too high. It would be nice if the situation calmed down and if there was a TV show that invited me outside of [matches].
Shinsuke Nakamura to Tokyo Sports
Nakamura remains one of the most decorated athletes in New Japan Pro Wrestling history, and the faction he helped to found in 2009, CHAOS, is still going strong today. Nakamura has three IWGP Heavyweight Championships, five Intercontinental Championships, one Tag Team Championship, a G1 Climax win, a G1 Tag League crown, and many more accolades to his name in a New Japan career that lasted 14 years.
In the course of the interview, Nakamura also mentioned that Brock Lesnar had recently asked him about the health of Antonio Inoki, the New Japan founder and Japanese legend who has been struggling with health issues for the last few years.
There was a special feature on a Japanese TV program, wasn’t there? I’m very worried about him. I met Brock Lesnar at Smackdown the other day. He heard about it and asked me if Mr. Inoki is okay. So I shared as much information as I could. Please let him know, really. Mr. Inoki is a person who always gives off energy, but there are many people around him who love him. There are many people around who love Inoki-san, so I hope you can get some energy from them
Shinsuke Nakamura to Tokyo Sports
Lesnar and Nakamura have some shared New Japan history as well, as the two clashed over the IWGP Heavyweight Title in the main event of the annual January 4 Tokyo Dome show in 2006, the year before it became branded Wrestle Kingdom.
It remains to be seen if Nakamura will be able to fulfil his wishes and help NJPW in the course of their 50th anniversary celebration this year. The company’s 50th Anniversary show will be held Tuesday, March 1 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
h/t to Cultaholic for transcription.
Follow Kyle Sparks on Twitter at @kyleksparks.
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