Shinsuke Nakamura spotted with female WWE star amid 4-month absence from RAW and SmackDown
Shinsuke Nakamura has not been featured on WWE television since the April 22, 2024, episode of RAW. The King of Strong Style was recently spotted with Kairi Sane of Damage CTRL amid his four-month absence from the Stamford-based promotion.
The 44-year-old star last appeared on RAW in April 2024, when he lost to the returning Sheamus. He has remained active in the ring on live events and house shows. Shinsuke most recently competed at WWE's three-day tour of Japan.
In a post on his official Instagram account, Nakamura shared a photo of himself with his grappling class students at Rudo's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym in Orlando, Florida. Some of his students include Kairi Sane, World Wonder Ring Stardom's Mina Shirakawa, and Hanako.
"Shinsuke Nakamura’s grappling class," Nakamura shared.
Check out his Instagram post below:
It seems like Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the grappling instructors at the gym, which is primarily known for Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Other WWE Superstars such as Shayna Baszler and Karrion Kross, as well as former WWE star Matt Riddle, are teaching BJJ there.
Nakamura is a mixed martial arts practitioner and even had several fights in the early 2000s. He has a legitimate MMA record of three wins, one loss, and one no-contest.
Shinsuke Nakamura recently appeared in the UFC
As mentioned above, Shinsuke Nakamura is not just a pro wrestler but also a real MMA fighter and practitioner. The King of Strong Style recently made an appearance at UFC 303 in Las Vegas, Nevada, back in June 2024. He was in the corner of Flyweight prospect Rei Tsuruya for his fight against Carlos Hernandez.
In an interview with Aaron Bronsteter of SportsNet after the fight, Nakamura commented on his WWE status and confirmed that he still wants to wrestle for the Stamford-based company. He just wants to perform and face different challenges for now and help create dream matches for fans.
"I've been wrestling for WWE over eight years now. I want to keep wrestling in WWE to give the fans more dream matches. That's what I want to do. I want to show my passion. I brought the Japanese style to WWE but I still want to keep challenging," Nakamura said.
Shinsuke Nakamura received a slight push late last year when he challenged Seth Rollins several times for the World Heavyweight Championship. The 44-year-old star also had a brief feud with Cody Rhodes after the 2024 Royal Rumble. He is now part of SmackDown after the 2024 WWE Draft but has yet to make an appearance since it happened.