One of the superstars that have really had a bad luck with the injuries over the past couple of years is Hideo Itami. Before there was Shinsuke Nakamura in the WWE, and before there was all that big fuss about other stars from Japan, there was Hideo Itami as the superstar of the future.
Everybody had huge expectations for him as this guy was starting to get a lot of steam and a lot of momentum. But as soon as that happened, he got injured every single time. Bad luck with that really could have hurt his career as a lot of people have come and have left the NXT during his recovery time. He lost a lot of heat that he had, and a lot of fans even forgot about him.
There is no doubt that Hideo, or formerly known as Kenta, has the in-ring ability to be one of the best in the WWE. But, he needs big matches and big moments in order to get over with the crowd. He also needs to reintroduce his character to the WWE Universe.
This feud with Bobby Roode really has done just that as the NXT really got familiar with him again. Even though the title around Roode’s belt was never in question, Hideo needed to come out and have a great match, put on a show and deliver the goods in the ring. The duel itself had a great story with both men trying to disable the finishing move of the opponent. Great wrestling with amazing storytelling ability is what is going to propel Itami to the heights that he knows that he can reach. Without a doubt, this was a good start in chasing his goals and potential.
