Despite previously saying he may join John Cena and AJ Styles in retirement, WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura may not be hanging it up soon.
Speaking to Tokyo Sports (via Wrestle Purists), Nakamura explained that he may still have more time than originally thought. It helps that he hasn't been dealing with a lot of injuries, which can help extend a career.
He knows Father Time is undefeated. While Nakamura, 45, conceded that he may not have another 10 years in the tank, he could stick around for the immediate future.
“Fortunately, I haven't had many injuries, so it's not like I have to retire right now,” Nakamura said. “But nothing lasts forever. If you ask me about the next 10 years, I have my doubts, but if you ask me about five years, maybe. You never know what tomorrow brings, so I just have to do what I can do now.”
Why doesn't Shinsuke Nakamura want to retire from WWE yet?
What keeps him going is his desire to win championships and his belief that he still has it. Nakamura wants to win the World Heavyweight Championship, a title that has alluded him. He previously feuded with Seth Rollins over it during the “Visionary's” first reign in 2023, but Nakamura did not win it.
Nakamuara has never won world championship gold on WWE's main roster (he is a two-time NXT Champion), and he wants to pave the way for future Japanese and Asian wrestlers.
“That’s what I’m after,” he said of the World Heavyweight Championship. “When you think about the things Japanese wrestlers, especially men, haven’t yet broken through in America, that’s it.
“I don’t know if it’ll serve as proof of anything, but sometimes I wonder—if I can’t do it, what happens then? I just want to leave behind a path, a sense of hope, for the next generation of Japanese and Asian wrestlers,” Nakamura concluded.
His latest comments come shortly after WWE's recent tour of Japan. Nakamura seemed contemplative on X, formerly Twitter, afterward. He took to X to say his retirement “might not be far off.” Granted, he did also say he still has “things I must do.” So, it sounds like he will keep going, at least for a little while.
