Absent WWE Star Expected to be At This Friday’s SmackDown Taping in Brooklyn

Shinsuke Nakamura has been a key name in WWE since leaving NJPW over eight years ago to build his career in the U.S. While 2024 hasn’t been his best year so far, it appears that he’ll be part of this week’s SmackDown tapings.

Shinsuke Nakamura last appeared on WWE TV during the April 22 edition of RAW, where he was defeated by Sheamus. Since then, the WWE Superstar has competed in two post-Draft dark matches, losing to Cody Rhodes and Braun Strowman, but has not participated in any televised Friday night matches. Nakamura’s record for 2024 includes just one Premium Live Event, eight televised bouts, four dark matches, and 38 non-televised live event appearances and he has an alarmingly low win/loss percentage.

PWInsider reports that Shinsuke Nakamura is expected to be at this Friday’s SmackDown event in Brooklyn, NY. WWE will air a live episode on Friday night, followed by taping next week’s go-home edition of SmackDown ahead of the Crown Jewel event.

In addition to this, Shinsuke Nakamura will be making his return to NOAH at Nippon Budokan on New Year’s Day in 2025. Nonetheless, we’ll have to wait and see what WWE will have planned for him during the SmackDown tapings this week, as fans simply want him to be involved in something substantial.

Do you believe WWE should treat Shinsuke Nakamura better? Let us know in the comments section below!