11 Times Wrestlers Bet On Themselves (... And LOST!)

11. Kenta Fulfils A WWE Dream... And Pays For It

He may have spent years beating the stuffing out of the likes of Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Samoa Joe, and many more in Ring of Honor, and become a legend within Pro Wrestling NOAH, but the wonderfully violent soul known as KENTA still had one dream he wished to fulfil.

The Japanese sensation had always wanted a spot in the biggest wrestling company on planet earth. And after a successful tryout in early 2014, one of the hottest free agents in the game was finally handed a WWE deal.

What could have been a dream come true for the creator of the GTS, though, soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.

In the wake of being given the typical WWE rebranding treatment upon arriving in early black and gold era NXT, a decent feud alongside Finn Balor against The Ascension lads and earning a spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was about as good as it ever got for Hideo Itami.

A year out with a shoulder injury seriously derailed a promising start. And other injury issues along the way, on top of never quite clicking in the sports entertainment environment, ultimately left KENTA feeling frustrated enough to request his release in 2019 after five disappointing years.

He took a chance on his dream, but "KENTA: WWE Superstar" seemingly just wasn't meant to be.