Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor: Which NXT Legend Is More Misused by WWE?

Both Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor are potential transcendent WWE stars and immortals of the squared circle but have looked awfully mortal of late.

Nakamura has yet to hit his stride since joining the SmackDown brand. Balor hasn't quite been treated like he's as special as he is.

Neither man is in as unenviable a position as someone like Luke Harper, who is left to atrophy in booking purgatory. Still, WWE hasn't hit the highest gears with either Nakamura or Balor. Things are off in both cases. 

But who has the most to gripe about? Breaking down their stories, presentation, win-loss record and overall momentum answer that question. 

The Case for Balor

WWE left a healthy Balor off the WrestleMania 33 card.

The former universal champion rehabbed his torn shoulder weeks ahead of the April 2 megashow. The company, however, chose to keep him on the house show circuit and save his return until after WrestleMania.

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WATCH @FinnBalor make his @WWE return to action! #FINNSBACK pic.twitter.com/YJKKen6LU2

— WWE UK (@WWEUK) March 11, 2017"

The next Raw pay-per-view was sans Balor, too. WWE chose not to book Balor later that month for Payback, keeping him idle at a big event once more.

That streak of bench-warming ended at Extreme Rules, thankfully, when Balor battled in a Fatal 5-Way main event. And while Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns all had a chance to build momentum on Raw the next night, Balor was nowhere to be seen.

The folks at the Over the Ropes podcast were among those wondering what happened to Balor on the fallout show:

Missing one Raw isn't a big deal. It's more worrisome that Balor has no rivalry lined up. 

Weeks ago, it looked as if he and Wyatt were on a collision course. WWE didn't follow up on that. And judging by The Eater of Words' interference in the Rollins vs. Joe match on the latest Raw, Wyatt vs. Rollins is the plan moving forward.

Joe is set to face Brock Lesnar. The Miz is continuing to battle Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship.

Balor, meanwhile, has a less obvious path ahead of him.

Credit: WWE.com

That could change in a hurry, but that's been a pattern since his return. Balor has been back since March and has yet to engage in a full-fledged feud.

And his numbers haven't been great in recent weeks.

Per CageMatch.net, Balor is 2-4 in his last six bouts. while Nakamura, on the other hand, has yet to lose since his SmackDown debut. 

The Case for Nakamura

Whether it's Nakamura struggling to adjust to a new stage or WWE asking him to hold back on his hard-hitting offense, something feels off with The King of Strong Style.

Against Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens and in a pair of tag matches so far, Nakamura hasn't been as violent and dangerous as we're used to seeing. There's been a general lack of spark in his first few bouts on the blue brand, too.

Jake Barnett wrote for ProWrestling.net: "I've yet to see a genuinely exciting Nakamura match on the main roster, which is disconcerting to a degree."

There seems to be more focus on Nakamura's eccentricity than his viciousness, too.

The Artist Known as Shinsuke Nakamura is not exactly the most intimidating of nicknames. WWE has played up how much of a rock star he is, zeroed in on his energetic entrance and mentioned his charisma more than any other trait.

All that is important, but WWE can't forget to sell Nakamura as a warrior, as well.

So far, he's used his mouth more than his fists. Despite his limited English-language skills, WWE keeps trotting him out there to deliver promos with his mouthguard in and all.

The ratio of speaking to kicking ass has to shift toward the latter in a big way.

As Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful noted, talking could get in his way:

One solution would be to get Nakamura a manager to be his mouthpiece. Can you imagine what Paul Heyman could do for the two-time NXT champ?

Or else, WWE could paint Nakamura as a silent assassin type, a guy who shuts up people with strikes rather than goes back and forth verbally with them. For now, though, the company isn't quite getting things right with him.

The Verdict

Balor is underused, but what's going on with Nakamura is more something more significant.

The Irishman's narrative can change in an instant. One big win or one intriguing rivalry kicking off would do the trick. 

The King of Strong Style, on the other hand, is suffering a presentation issue.

WWE doesn't seem to fully understand Nakamura's strengths. Until he starts kicking guys' heads off, there will be doubts that the Nakamura we saw at New Japan Pro Wrestling or at times at NXT will emerge on the main roster.

We've seen Balor be Balor on Raw.

His record hasn't been great, but the numbers don't paint the full picture. Balor has looked strong in his defeats.

He had Reigns beat at Extreme Rules before Joe slipped in from behind to smother him with a Coquina Clutch. Wyatt's interference cost him the match against Rollins and The Miz on May 1. And he gave The Big Dog quite the test two weeks later.

Nakamura has Balor beat recordwise, but there's more reason to get nervous about the Japanese gladiator's future.

WWE has made it clear it values both men. Something remains missing with Nakamura, though.

The company is still trying to figure out how to use its latest toy.