6 Ups And 5 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Chicago
3. Itami Odd Man Out
NXT did a nice job with its pre-match video showcasing Hideo Itami’s rocky journey with the company, joining the brand with much fanfare two years ago and then getting injured and missing a year-plus, then getting injured again.
The observation was made that a lot of wrestlers bypassed Itami in that time, and he was simply trying to get his footing under him again with this recent return. But after his match Saturday night, you have to wonder if NXT has passed Itami by. His NXT Championship match against Bobby Roode started slow and took a bit to get fans into it, but by the end they were fully invested. Still, Hideo came up short.
This isn’t to say that Itami is a total bust, but it does feel like his best opportunity to excel has elapsed. Sure, that could just be a bad gut feeling, but it’s definitely there.