Former WWE Superstar discloses Shinsuke Nakamura's eye-opening advice
Former WWE Superstar Buddy Matthews (f.k.a.) Buddy Murphy revealed an interesting piece of advice he received from Shinsuke Nakamura that helped him make a big decision for his in-ring career.
In a recent interview with Forbes, Matthews discussed the real reason behind his in-ring attire. He revealed that the King of Strong Style's words were important in deciding the in-ring gear that would set Matthews apart from the rest of the names in the pro-wrestling business.
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According to Matthews, the reigning Intercontinental Champion in WWE had talked about the importance of creative gear from the perspective of casual fans. Nakamura asserted unique in-ring clothes help performers in creating a long-lasting impression among the viewers.
"I remember talking with Shinsuke Nakamura and he brought up a very good point that opened my eyes to it," said Matthews. "He said when you have a casual fan and families that come to these events and watch us—especially a casual fan—they're not going to remember our names. Because they're not familiar with the product. They're just there to follow their family, they enjoyed the show, hopefully, and then on the drive home they generally kind of recap the show."
"So Shin said they're not going to remember his name. 'Shinsuke Nakamura' isn't the easiest name to come off the tongue, but they can also describe him as something: 'the guy who wears all red.' And that kind of triggered something with me. 'Okay, so what's my description word to a casual fan when he's driving his family home from an event? The guy in the ripped-up shorts.' No action figure has had torn shorts before. So it was just all about having something unique to myself," he concluded.
This introspective piece of advice caused Buddy Matthews to ultimately stick to the ripped-off shorts, which eventually became a vital part of his in-ring persona in WWE.
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Buddy Matthews is one of several names that were released by WWE earlier this year. Almost four months after his exit from the company, it was confirmed that Matthews would compete in NJPW.
He is all set to face Kazuchika Okada at the Battle in the Valley event this weekend, marking his debut for the promotion. Matthews talked about his upcoming match and compared it to his in-ring battle against Roman Reigns on SmackDown back in 2019.