20 Incredible Images Of Wrestling "Champions" Who Never Were

16. Hideo Itami - NXT Championship

Owen Hart
WWE

Sadly as close as Hideo Itami ever came to the NXT Championship in a snakebitten run with the brand, this momentary tease during an aborted programme with Kevin Owens came shortly before an injury that took him out of the running for good.

Oddly enough, it wouldn't be Itami's brush with one of the industry's most important titles. though he stands a much better chance of actually winning one of the two he held aloft in early 2020...

In this post: 
Owen Hart WWE
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett