Thread: "100,001" Replies (Wrestling Forum)
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Old 02-14-2016, 08:11 PM   #22901
CSL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Noid View Post
I think Nakamura is somewhat of a special case. His charisma is really off the charts. I think they'd like Okada, but I also feel that his place in Japan is pretty set, and he can grow into as big a national hero as a Japanese wrestler can. The talent raided by WWE have all been American guys with the exception of Nakamura who has probably had the inkling he'd be going for years.
if Nakamura is a success, what he brings to the table won't really matter, WWE aren't going to see it as a one-off thing because of Nakamura's personality, they're going to see that these guys can come in and get over. It's a becoming a vastly different company to what it was even 2 years ago, this isn't a guy they'd really have taken back then, NXT and guys like Bryan and Punk have changed the entire industry. Okada has never hit quite that Tanahashi level of popularity despite how talented he is and he's certainly not going to hit the heights/popularity that Misawa, Kobashi and co did (not to mention guys further back when everything was red hot and promotions were doing 40,000 people multiple times a year) especially with business declining.

The usual typical New Japan contracts are yearly/rolling deals, if these guys see Nakamura make an impact and more importantly making some real money and WWE come calling, that could spell trouble for New Japan. "Rumour has it" they're trying to sort a long term deal for Okada but even if it was 4-5 years he'll still be younger than Nakamura when it's up. They need to make stars because if Nakamura takes off, they'd be silly not to go back for more and they don't really have many headliners as it is, without anybody to potentially replace even just Okada & Tanahashi they'd be in trouble. It's quite similar to how WWE haven't really made many legit main event guys over the last however many years. Difference being New Japan isn't a billion dollar entertainment empire whose brand identity itself is the draw, it's still just a pro wrestling company that relies on star power to put asses in seats.
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