Shinsuke Nakamura says his WWE entrance theme has been important to him since the beginning.
Nakamura signed with WWE in early 2016, a major "get" for WWE's developmental brand. When he finally appeared he was accompanied by his new entrance theme featuring classical sounding arrangements of a violin. In an interview with ESPN, Nakamura said his music was not as great when WWE first sent it to him for his approval.
"Before my debut, WWE sent me a sample of the music and I sent it back. I said, 'I don't want to use this, I don't want to use this.' They tried to keep it and I said, 'No, no, no.' Finally, I asked them if they could listen to some samples, and we went back and forth and finally they sent me what you hear now, and I said, 'Yes, OK. I'll use this one,'" said Nakamura.
He and his music debuted at NXT Takeover: Dallas. Nakamura said it was a big change for him after wrestling in Japan for fourteen years. Nakamura also said his music was a part of this big step into a new world.
"At TakeOver Dallas I wrestled Sami Zayn. I never wrestled with him before. Everything was for the first time, but I already had experienced wrestling at huge venues so I wasn't nervous, but that match was huge for me... My friend told me later that after the match, on the street, on the subway, everyone was still singing the song. It was awesome," said Nakamura.
He was asked how important his music was to his character and he replied, "How important is it? Maybe 90 percent." He also talked to ESPN about his influences from Michael Jackson and his dreams of Wrestlemania. Fightful Wrestling will have live coverage of NXT Takeover: Orlando where Nakamura challenges Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship on Saturday.
The rest of the interview can be found at ESPN.com.
