MM17 [2nd RD] ROMAN REIGNS vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA

[RIPPA 34,405]

ROMAN REIGNS

ROUND ONE

 

SHINSUKE NAKAMURA

ROUND ONE

[OSJ 5,701]

Two people voted for Roman? That's just precious...

[The Man Known as Dan 3,763]

Anyone want to take Nakamura's best matches and put them against Reigns best matches? Cause while Nakamura's best match in the time frame is amazing, everything else he did was just kinda middling between "meh" to "pretty good"

[JonnyLaw 3,428]

Hot take: Shinsuke has been a detriment to NXT.

 

I dunno, is that even a hot take at this point? 

[Chicken Sandwich Carl 78]

This one is a no brainer to me: Reigns. Nak was frustrating all year while Reigns was consistently good-great in ring all year. 

[The Man Known as Dan 3,763]

Just now, JonnyLaw said:

Hot take: Shinsuke has been a detriment to NXT.

 

I dunno, is that even a hot take at this point? 

I'm not sure Nak himself has been a detriment, but the booking itself has been pretty shit and led nothing of note the entire year that interested me outside of the tag division.

[EVA 5,848]

1 minute ago, JonnyLaw said:

Hot take: Shinsuke has been a detriment to NXT.

 

I dunno, is that even a hot take at this point? 

I think NXT has been a detriment to Nak.  You can tell he's mostly just biding his time until he gets called up to the big show.  And it's not like they've sacrificed the roster or the show to him:  he's jobbed the title twice and done multiple injury angles that kept him off TV for stretches.  I can't think of anyone of consequence that he's beaten who wasn't already on their way up to the main roster.

[RIPPA 34,405]

Funnily enough - we are all like GOD WE NEED MORE NXT FAN CAMS!!!! in the hopes it would be a boon for all their workers

Nak would be actively hurt if his house show stuff was out there in full

[caley 3,637]

I liked Nakamura-Zayn, but I think I actually preferred Rusev-Reigns from Raw.  So I ended up going Reigns on the higher end as well.

[(BP) 5,748]

Nak's been a case of diminishing returns since his hot debut, and Reigns has had some really high highs the past year. Their fortunes have sort of reversed since last Wrestlemania weekend. 

[nofuture 4,321]

Nakamura has pretty much been in NJPW house show 6 man tag match mode since arriving at NXT (don't blame him due to his age and miles on his body).  Reigns has had a better year overall.

[Technico Support 10,865]

This is the "grading on a curve" match.  One guy we expect more of and felt let down vs one guy we expect nothing of and are pleasantly surprised when he doesn't step on his own dick and fall out a window.

[ChrisM 396]

I'm a Nakamura fan, but I've enjoyed more Reigns matches than Nak matches. 

[Eivion 4,137]

I would take Reigns's matches with AJ over anything Nakamura did in this period.

[Chicken Sandwich Carl 78]

27 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

This is the "grading on a curve" match.  One guy we expect more of and felt let down vs one guy we expect nothing of and are pleasantly surprised when he doesn't step on his own dick and fall out a window.

While I agree with the sentiment, Reigns was actively good this year and has been for years.

[Cristobal 8,262]

And I'd take AJ/Nakamura over anything Roman has done in his entire career.

Meanwhile I'd take Nakamura/Booby Roode over anything Roman did not against AJ Styles, and Nak/Zayn is still something Reigns can't match.

I'm not gonna hold the tire fire that is the booking of Roman Reigns against him, but his stuff with Owens, Jericho, and Strowman wasn't really any better than Nak's series with Joe.

[EVA 5,848]

AJ/Nak was definitely not in period.

[Raziel 8,912]

I'm a huge Nakamura mark.  While his coasting is better than a lot of people's all out best, he's been firmly coasting, and that's the fault of the booking and him being stuck in NXT.

 

While his booking is absolute shit, Roman's been busting his ass to attempt to overcome it, or at the very least justify it, regardless how people react.

 

I'm going Roman.

[S.K.o.S. 1,443]

20 minutes ago, EVA said:

AJ/Nak was definitely not in period.

I think his point is that AJ/Roman doesn't mean as much when you consider Nak would have likely produced something much better had he been in that spot, and the evidence is that we know what an AJ/Nak match looks like.

[JohnnyJ 1,088]

Reigns is becoming a Cena-type who love him or hate him is producing solid work every time out. Nak isn't that type of performer and has been handcuffed by the limitations of nxt. I don't see how naks year measures up to reigns. 

[NikoBaltimore 5,308]

Evidence be damned I'm not voting against Nakamura.  The fact that Roman's winning, and maybe deservedly so, is highly damning evidence of Nak being stuck in NXT.  FFS he needed to be on the MR last year and it's borderline criminal he's not.  While I get why people vote Reigns I damn sure don't like it.

[JonnyLaw 3,428]

2 hours ago, Technico Support said:

This is the "grading on a curve" match.  One guy we expect more of and felt let down vs one guy we expect nothing of and are pleasantly surprised when he doesn't step on his own dick and fall out a window.

Are there really people who don't expect much out of Roman at this point? 

34 minutes ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Evidence be damned I'm not voting against Nakamura.  The fact that Roman's winning, and maybe deservedly so, is highly damning evidence of Nak being stuck in NXT.  FFS he needed to be on the MR last year and it's borderline criminal he's not.  While I get why people vote Reigns I damn sure don't like it.

I see Nak sticking to his wacky schtick just as much on the main roster as on NXT, if not moreso.  At least in NXT he's not on the show every week, while on Raw/Smackdown he will be, so the coasting, if it continues, will be more pronounced.

[NikoBaltimore 5,308]

I can see that on the weekly shows, but considering the awesome talent they have there could be some pretty damn good matches.  If somebody like Cesaro was against him I can guarandamntee they'd do what they can to make some magic out there.  And the network specials could be even better.

[Sublime 996]

For the past few months of NXT my feelings on Nak is that he is bored and probably frustrated with being in NXT still and at this point the best thing might just be for him to go back the NJPW. I'm pretty sure he'll be on the main roster after Mania but who knows how well that will turn out. He could work magic against a lot of the guys on either brand but will his heart be in it is the question I have. 

That said his matches with Sami and Roode were aces. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to vote for Roman yet so I'm holding off to think some more.

[SorceressKnight 1,412]

3 hours ago, JonnyLaw said:

Hot take: Shinsuke has been a detriment to NXT.

 

I dunno, is that even a hot take at this point? 

Shinsuke hasn't been the detriment to NXT as much as he just had bad luck to get there just as they lost everything that made NXT NXT - all the great NXT stars who did it on how well-written they were (it's highly meaningful Nakamura's first NXT match was Sami Zayn's swansong in NXT), losing Ryan Ward's writing, having lost Dusty Rhodes's character work- and it was replaced with the "oooh...new indy darling! They're all SHIIIIIIIIINYYYYYYYYYYY...shiny shiny shiny...oh, now it's boring...OOH! NEW new indy darling!", repeat booking that's hindered it. 

It's not a hot take to say Shinsuke was a detriment to NXT- it'd be a hot take to say: Swap AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE careers thus far and there is no difference. Nakamura likely does as well as Styles has, and Styles wouldn't stem the bleeding in NXT.