undergo pre-contract signing medical tests. On February 22, WWE held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan to officially announce the signing of Nakamura to NXT. On April 1, Nakamura defeated Sami Zayn in his debut match at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a critically acclaimed match. On the April 13 episode of NXT, Nakamura defeated Tye Dillinger in his NXT television debut. On the May 25 episode of NXT, Austin Aries declared his intention to become the next NXT Champion, which prompted a response from Nakamura, and NXT general manager William Regal then scheduled a match between the two on June 8 at NXT TakeOver: The End, which Nakamura won. On the June 15 episode of NXT, Nakamura challenged former NXT Champion Finn Bálor to a match that was accepted and won by Nakamura on the July 13 episode of NXT. On August 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Nakamura defeated Samoa Joe to win the NXT Championship for the first time. On November 19 at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, Nakamura lost the title to Joe in his first defense, marking his first televised loss in NXT. On the December 28 episode of NXT from Osaka, Japan, Nakamura would regain the NXT Championship from Samoa Joe. On the January 4, 2017, episode of NXT, he successfully defended the championship against Joe in a steel cage match. On January 28 at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio, Nakamura lost the championship to Bobby Roode. In his return match on March 8, Nakamura defeated T. J. Perkins and was put into a rematch to face Roode for the NXT Championship on April 1 at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, but he was unsuccessful in reclaiming the championship. On the April 12 episode of NXT, Nakamura made his final NXT appearance, bidding farewell to the Full Sail University crowd. WWE Championship pursuits (2017–2018) On the April 4 episode of SmackDown Live, the first episode after WrestleMania 33, Nakamura made his main roster debut, interrupting The Miz and Maryse following their promo mocking John Cena and Nikki Bella; however this did not spark a feud between Nakamura and Miz, since Miz would be traded to Raw because of the Superstar Shake-up. Nakamura began feuding with Dolph Ziggler, whom he defeated in his televised in-ring debut at Backlash on May 21. On the May 23 episode of SmackDown Live, it was announced that Nakamura along with AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Dolph