WWE superstars haven't had too much luck in their hometowns lately, but Shinsuke Nakamura bucked the trend Saturday morning.
In front of a home crowd at the NXT: Osaka live event, Nakamura became a two-time NXT champion by defeating Samoa Joe in the main match.
"It felt awesome," the 36-year-old said in an interview posted by WWE's official Twitter account.
Both Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair have lost the Raw Women's Championship in their respective hometowns of Boston and Charlotte, North Carolina in the space of the past six weeks.
But Nakamura fared better at a venue that has been kind to him in his career -- he became the youngest wrestler in history to claim New Japan Pro Wrestling's most prestigious prize and did so in the same building on Dec. 9, 2003.
Finished #nxtosaka #nxt大阪 thank you!! ありがとう！ pic.twitter.com/hPmfOywrVR
— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) December 3, 2016
"Right here, when I was 24 years old, I got the IWGP heavyweight title the first time here," he continued. "I love this venue, Osaka Furitsu -- now Edion Arena. I love Osaka."
Samoa Joe had made history beating Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Toronto last month to become the first man to win the NXT Championship twice, but now holds the record for the shortest run with the title as he lost it after just a fortnight.
The NXT Championship has now changed hands four times in 2016 after having not switched more than twice in any year from 2012-15.
Of the past four title changes, two have taken place at live events, with Samoa Joe ending Finn Balor's record 292-day reign at a house show in Lowell in April.
