Shinsuke Nakamura’s step through the ‘forbidden door’ was a triumph for the WWE Superstar who defeated the Great Muta earlier today.

Nakamura’s involvement with Pro Wrestling NOAH’s at their ‘The New Year 2023’ event was announced in late October 2022 and at the time, Nakamura called it a “miracle.”

Muta, aka Keiji Mutoh, is currently on his retirement tour, which is set to end on February 21, 2023 at the Tokyo Dome.

Given that Nakamura is a contracted WWE Superstar, there was a ton if intrigue going into this match.

Nakamura had a special entrance for the match which included unique attire and his WWE theme music.



The match itself was a fast-paced, physical affair, with Muta using his iconic green mist to gain the advantage.

After Nakamura kicked out of Muta’s shining wizard, the former WWE NXT Champion used a mist of his own, before finishing the legend off with a Kinshasha.

After the match, Nakamura thanked Muta, calling him his idol and the King of Strong Style celebrated in the ring.

The two wrestlers helped each other walk up the stage and posed while pyro went off, bringing the show to an end.

Backstage, an exhausted Nakamura was thankful for the miracle of getting to compete in one of Muta’s final matches.



Muta would tweet a photo of himself and Nakamura after the match, admitting he is tired after their impressive performances.

This marked Nakamura’s first non-WWE match since signing with the promotion in early 2016.