"Daniel Bryan is one of the reasons I went to the WWE"

Nakamura during his glory days in NJPW

In an interview with Japanese media, WWE NXT’s newest recruit Shinsuke Nakamura confessed that the recently retired Daniel Bryan was one of his favourite wrestlers whose retirement came as a shock to him, reports dailywrestlingnews.com.

While speaking to the media in his homeland, Nakamura said: “I’m really shocked about Daniel Bryan’s retirement. He is one of the reasons why I went to WWE.”

However, Nakamura – who had a long and successful stint in his homeland with New Japan Pro Wrestling – could become a star in his own right on NXT as he certainly has the talent to take him right to the top.

The 35-year-old is a highly decorated veteran at New Japan Pro Wrestling and counts, among other things, three IWGP Heavyweight Championships, five IWGP Intercontinental Championships, one New Japan Cup, and one IWGP Tag Team Championship amongst his trophies.

Nakamura also received acclaim from places, with respected wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranking him fifth on their coveted PWI 500 back in 2015. Wrestling Observer also named him the Wrestler of the Year for 2014.

After more than a decade with NJPW, Nakamura made the switch to WWE’s NXT brand and is currently undergoing training to prepare for his debut in April.