The King of Strong Style Shinsuke Nakamura recently interviewed with TV Insider, where he discussed his journey thus far in the WWE, including his current run as the United States champion, and his almost three month feud with WWE champion A.J. Styles. On the Styles rivalry, Shinsuke explained in detail how he was able to slowly convert from fan favorite to hated heel, and how that helped him add a little bit more of his own personality into his character.

I wanted to do more for the first time on WWE. I think I could show myself more against AJ. After WrestleMania I became the heel, but I didn’t show everything. Just a little bit. It was awesome because when I hit the low blow at WrestleMania, all the Japanese fans were shocked. The people in the arena were loud. They were like, ‘Yeah!

You have a good side and bad side, real side. Then I put that on in the ring. My character, my personality in the ring came from heel stuff.

Nakamura would later talk about how proud he was of the Asian representation that runs through WWE, but admits that the transition to America isn’t easy.

This is big for Asians, not only for Japan. Everybody wants to get these opportunities. Kairi Sane, Io Shirai achieved and accomplished a lot in Japan, but they wanted to wrestle in a bigger stage. Only place is WWE right now to do that, and their decision was correct. They made the right decision.

Moving to the United States is a huge decision. There are wrestlers in Japan. I think they think they can move to WWE, but it’s not so easy. There is the language. I can speak English a bit, but I’m trying. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to enjoy my life and challenge myself. That’s why I came here. I came with my family. It’s a lot, so it’s not just wrestling. I’m proud to be here.