Nakamura not retiring soon, eyes WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Shinsuke Nakamura said he is not planning to retire immediately but acknowledged his in-ring career will not last forever, and he reiterated a long-held goal of winning a WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In an interview with Tokyo Sports this week following WWE's recent Japan tour, the 45-year-old described retirement as a future possibility rather than an imminent decision and set a target of leaving a legacy for the next generation of Japanese and Asian wrestlers.

"Fortunately, I haven't had many injuries, so it's not like I have to retire right away," Nakamura told Tokyo Sports. "But nothing lasts forever. If you ask me about the next 10 years, I have my doubts, but if you ask me about five years, maybe." He added that his chief motivation in WWE remains capturing the World Heavyweight Championship. "That's the World Heavyweight Championship. I just want to win that," he said, adding, "I hope I can leave behind some kind of path, some kind of hope, for the next generation of Japanese and Asian people."

Nakamura returned to WWE television on the October 10 episode of SmackDown in Perth, answering Sami Zayn's United States Championship open challenge. That match ended...