Shinsuke Nakamura’s mystery tag team partner appears to be all but confirmed.
In a vignette released on social media following Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, Nakamura continued teasing the arrival of his new partner while putting the newly-crowned WWE Tag Team Champions, the MFTs, on notice.
“Me. My partner. Your destruction. My partner is what you pretend to be. Experienced. Vicious. Deadly. He is chaos. He’s a ticking time bomb. Take cover,” Nakamura warned.
The “ticking time bomb” reference strongly points to Hiromu Takahashi, who has used the nickname throughout his career. The vignette also featured brief flashes of Takahashi, further signaling that the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion will be joining Nakamura.
Takahashi departed NJPW in February. Reports later surfaced indicating that both Takahashi and former House of Torture leader EVIL, who is now going by Naraku in NXT, were expected to make their way to WWE.
For those interested, you can check out our complete WWE SmackDown Results 8/14/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
.@ShinsukeN is back on #SmackDown and he’s bringing a dangerous new partner along with him. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/t7GvXRnDY9
— WWE (@WWE) August 15, 2026
