Why Shinsuke Nakamur'a heel turn at Wrestlemania 34 could be his saving grace
In the most shocking moment at WrestleMania 34, Shinsuke Nakamura went from "knee to face" to "fist to balls" and turned heel after losing his WWE Championship match against AJ Styles, and it might be a saving grace for him.
Before winning the Royal Rumble match in January, Nakamura wasn't doing anything, after coming off a horrible WWE title feud with Jinder Mahal and being thrown into a tag team with Randy Orton. Even after winning the Rumble, the build-up to Styles vs. Nakamura was underwhelming, with the highlights being both competitors teasing hitting their finishers on one another but stopping and patting them on the head. Now that Nakamura has turned heel, maybe he can finally reach his full potential in WWE.
Up until now, there has been something off about Nakamura on the main roster. He has the charisma, he has the in-ring skills, although he hasn't had that one memorable match in WWE to date (not counting his NXT debut against Sami Zayn), and his mic skills are lacking, but that isn't his fault. He's just missing that "it factor" and this heel turn may be the remedy to whatever that is.
After he finishes his feud with Styles, he can move on to fresh feuds with new faces, whether it be Randy Orton or Bobby Roode, maybe even Danel Bryan, which is a dream match for many on Smackdown. He can also move over to RAW and feud with guys like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, or Jeff Hardy on RAW after the superstar shakeup next week. Feuding with fresh faces and new feuds are exactly what Nakamura needs to freshen his character and get his momentum back.
The only two minor issues that may hurt Nakamura is that his theme song is over with the crowd, who sing it every time he comes out, especially in major cities. He needs a theme that fans can't sing and will get him some heel heat. The other is his promo skills. As I mentioned before, Nakamura's English is not very good, and he needs a manager to speak for him and get him heel heat as well. Paul Heyman would have been a great choice, but since Brock Lesnar re-signed and not everyone paired with Heyman is a success, that probably won't work. If Nakamura can get a great manager, a new theme song, and some fresh feuds as a heel, then his heel turn on Sunday may have saved his floundering WWE career.