Shinsuke Nakamura Refers To Upcoming Match As Miraculous

Shinsuke Nakamura struggled to find the right words when asked about his historic upcoming Pro-Wrestling NOAH match this Sunday against The Great Muta.

"The fact that the name of Muta will never appear [in] the ring again [shows the] changing flow of time," Nakamura said in a new interview ahead of their New Year's Day matchup. "The words...I don't know how to express this in Japanese – neither in English, though. It is a major change."

And it's also a major, "unbelievable" opportunity, the Japanese wrestler said. He recognized both the rarity of WWE allowing one of its workers to wrestle for another company, as well as the fact Muta requested him to be one of his last opponents ever ahead of his retirement.

"It was a surprise to me," Nakamura said, adding he couldn't believe the match was booked.

"It's really an impossible situation to occur," he continued. "Everything [about it] is special."

Early in his career, Nakamura faced Muta – his childhood "idol" – twice and lost both matchups. Nakamura later became a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and then signed with WWE. The 60-year-old Muta is one of the most decorated wrestlers in Japanese history, holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship four times, the IWGP Tag Team Championship six times, as well as several U.S. titles like the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Muta announced earlier this year that he plans to retire in the spring after five more matches, including Sunday's against Nakamura.

"It may not be the last match of his career, but it's a great pleasure that he chose me as one of his last opponents," Nakamura said. "Special is not enough for this match, but it is a miracle [to even happen.]"