10 WWE Releases That Could Have Been Easily Avoided

Anyone who had the pleasure of watching the former Kenta brutalise the likes of Jushin Thunder Liger and Juventud Guerrera in Pro Wrestling Noah or nearly kill Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe in Ring of Honor, will tell you just how excited they were at the prospect of this relentless ass-kicker coming over to WWE in 2014.

Then, Hideo Itami (as he was rebranded under WWE's umbrella) felt himself becoming the victim of overshadowing for the first time on the NXT roster when the former Prince Devitt, Finn Bálor, turned up to help the Japanese star fight off The Ascension. The arrival of Bálor seemed to decelerate Itami's push and the only saving grace he could latch onto was that of a losing appearance in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31.

Injuries would chip away at any momentum Itami attempted to build and after multiple attempts to conjure up some kind of support from the fans, he found himself on the outside looking in at the black and gold brand's success.

He would be let go after a lacklustre run on 205 Live in February 2019 and Triple H has to look back on the unfortunate story of Itami's run in the company as a huge missed opportunity. If he'd been given the attention and focus he deserved following his numerous returns, perhaps he could have become a star in the same vein of NXT badasses like Tommaso Ciampa or Aleister Black. Instead he was lost in the shuffle and now plies his trade in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.