Shinsuke Nakamura Signing with WWE Would Be a Game-Changer for Stagnant Product

Adding Shinsuke Nakamura would be an injection of pure adrenaline straight to the heart for WWE, a company currently sleepwalking its way to dwindling ratings.

Nakamura, a rock star of the wrestling ring with a stockpile of charisma, is well outside WWE's comfort zone. The company normally shies away from top Japanese talent. It prefers to build its own stars over welcoming wrestlers who have established their names elsewhere.

To top if off, he's in his mid-30s, a drawback for a company that has often looked to go young with new signings.

But if there ever was a time for WWE to buck its own patterns for the sake of special talent, it's now.

There's a fading buzz around the product. Raw's numbers continue to head in the wrong direction each Monday, and there is a sameness and a cookie-cutter feel to its shows that has WWE limping along.

As Richard Morgan of the New York Post summed up, "Ratings for WWE Raw, the company’s Monday night show on USA Network, have fallen nearly 50 percent from their 2015 high amid a slew of complaints from fans that the entertainment has become too predictable."

A potential elixir for that predictability currently competes thousands of miles away for New Japan Pro Wrestling. But the door could be opening for him to change locations.

Nakamura's contract is expiring shortly. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Zone) reported that this is a situation worth keeping an eye on, seemingly implying interest on WWE's end. The company would be smart to do everything it can to coax Nakamura to leave NJPW for WWE. The King of Strong Style is a blue-chip prospect with the ability to invigorate Raw and SmackDown.

Beyond being an tremendous all-around performer, he wields a rare level of star power.

One can turn on NJPW TV with no knowledge of the storylines and no understanding of the Japanese language and be instantly hooked by the flamboyant, expressive and fiery Nakamura.

The thought of him bringing that power into a WWE environment is enough to leave a wrestling fan salivating.

Not only does he have electric presence, but he's one of a kind. There is no one else in the wrestling world who plucks elements of Michael Jackson's shtick, merges them with a hard-hitting style and has a feverish energy that surges through him.

WWE needs originality. It needs freshness. It needs someone intent on redefining what a pro wrestler looks like, as Nakamura has been.

There's no word on if WWE officials are convinced of his powers, but a pair of Hall of Famers are.

In response to a fan's question, Jim Ross called him "one of the top performers in the world." On his podcast, Steve Austin called Nakamura "a natural showman" and said that he and Hiroshi Tanahashi are "awesome hands in the ring."

That second statement has been especially true this year. Nakamura has been tearing it up with a string of stellar bouts.

In 2015 alone, he has put on six singles matches that Dave Meltzer rated four stars or higher in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Event	Opponent	Star Rating (out of 5)
Wrestle Kingdom 9	Kota Ibushi	5
Wrestling Dontaku 2015	Hirooki Goto	4
Dominion 7.5	Hirooki Goto	4.5
G1 Climax 25	Hiroshi Tanahashi	5
Destruction in Kobe 2015	Hirooki Goto	4.5
Power Struggle 2015	Karl Anderson	4

When you're producing that kind of work against a solid-not-spectacular guy like Anderson, that's a true sign of greatness.

Pitting him against the likes of Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt would create dream match after dream match. WWE's options would explode with his addition like a playoff team adding an MVP-caliber player to the mix.

And so the logical move, as Daily DDT's Jay Sichler wrote, would be for WWE to "jump on signing the hottest star in the wrestling world."

That's far from a safe bet, though. Outside of Hideo Itami and a few others, WWE has historically not taken chances with big names from Japan. WWE didn't sign Kenta Kobashi when he was in his prime. It didn't break the bank for Mitsuharu Misawa in the '90s or more recently Kazuchika Okada.

There's certainly a chance—as there would have been with all those names—that Nakamura's act wouldn't translate to WWE.

But his skill set begs for the company to take that chance. With WWE not being nearly the exciting, dynamic entity that it once was, the time is right to do just that.

It's time to shake things up. It's time to send Triple H to Japan with a checkbook with the intent on bolstering the roster with a top-notch talent like no other.