After fans finally found out what Shinsuke Nakamura said to Seth Rollins during their confrontation on the previous edition of RAW – that the “King of Strongstyle” knew about his injured back – Seth Rollins stopped by the backstage area just before the main event match between The Judgment Day and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn – and eventually Cody Rhodes too – to give his side of the story.

Asked by Jackie Redmond if Nakamura's assertion is true, Rollins admitted it was, acknowledging that he's not sure how much longer he can go at this current level before turning his attention to his next WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Payback.

“You know Shinsuke, he caught me off guard last week when he brought up my back injury because the truth is, it's not something I really like to talk about, but if we're being completely honest here, I do have two fractions on my lumbar spine, I have been living with that injury for over four years, and it doesn't get better by itself. As a matter of fact, it just gets worse, and the truth is, I don't really know what the end game is; I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to do this at the level I'm currently running at,” Seth Rollins told Jackie Redmond.

“And do you know what? That's part of the gig. It's part of the gig if Shincuke Nakamura wants to bring up and target my injuries, and it's part of the game if Shinsuke Nakamura wants to take cheapshots and play mind games. H*ll, it's even part of the game if Shinsuke Nakamura wants to question my character, many have, he's not the first, and he's not the last. But if Shinsuke Nakamura wants to bring my family into it, my wife and my daughter and my livelihood into this, then he's better be prepared to face me man-to-man.”

Now, for fans in the know, this isn't the first time Rollins' back injury has come up recently, as he admitted to the issue as recently as July, but this is the first time a challenger has explicitly targeted it in a match, with Finn Balor opting instead to focus on the ribs with his signature finisher, the coup de grâce. If Nakamura wants a war, he's certainly picked the right words for a fight.

Shinsuke Nakamura's words cut deep with Seth Rollins.

Speaking of Shinsuke Nakamura, what exactly did he say to the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion when they stepped in the ring last week? Well, the “King of Strongstyle” cut a lengthy promo while visiting friends – read: Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, and Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio – to lay it all out for the WWE Universe to see.

“Everyone asks me what I whispered to Seth Rollins. What could I have possibly said to fill him with fear? Seth is a man who acts like he has it all. Prosperous, charismatic, a champion. But I know Seth, and I know his weaknesses. I whispered to Seth, ‘I know about your back,'” Shinsuke Nakamura said.

“Seth's back has been broken for many years. He lives in pain, and his pain creates a voice inside of him that nothing can fill.  No matter how successful he is, he is still in pain; when he hugs his wife, he is in pain. When he picks up his child, he is in pain. He is a world champion, yet every day of his life is filled with pain. And now his worst fears are coming true. He knows that I can break him once and for all. You see Seth and I are not so different, I have a void too. We live by a code that others do not, in fact, that code is displayed on his back; the very same back that is failing, just like he is failing to live by that code. His body has crumbled under the pressure of his own vanity. Are you satisfied, Seth? With what you have done with your life? Are you satisfied, Seth? Because I will not be satisfied until I take that burden from you, when I break you once and for all. Watch your back.”

Goodness gracious, when has WWE used Nakamura this well? Was it all the way back in NXT, well before he was hanging out with Rick Boogs and named a king? Regardless, it's clear Paul “Triple H” Levesque is tapping into the side of Nakamura that made him an all-time legend in New Japan Pro Wrestling last decade and a prospect so intriguing that he didn't even have to change his moniker when he signed on the dotted line and reported to Orlando back in 2016.