Shinsuke Nakamura is currently dealing with a hand injury. This was revealed by his partner/guitarist Rick Boogs recently on the Out of Character podcast. Nakamura has been wrestling sparingly as of late. His last match was at a WWE live event on December 18th, 2021.
“We’ve only had a couple of tag matches together and he suffered a hand injury that has kept him out for close to two months now, it seems like. I’m looking forward to him being healthy and cleared so we can kick some tail,” Boogs said on the podcast.
“From there, down the road, we’ll branch off, but I’m in no rush with that. There is a new approach, pairing up the seasoned vets with new up and comers and it’s obviously for a reason. It helps get more exposure, TV time, valuable insight. I don’t think he’d be as willing to help me out if I wasn’t with him, Strong Style Shred. What’s his incentive to help me?”
The reigning Intercontinental Champion has Sami Zayn waiting in the wings for him. Zayn won a gauntlet match recently on Smackdown to earn a future IC title match. Zayn recently lost a singles match to Boogs on Smackdown after having been distracted by Zayn on the outside.
Nakamura won the Intercontinental title on August 13th last year from Apollo Crews. It is his second reign with the championship.
H/T To Fightful for the above transcriptions.
