This fall has been quite the tumultuous season for WWE. In just a few weeks, Superstars have quit, contracted the mumps, been injured, gotten fired and made surprising returns. To round out the wheel of roster transactions, WWE may be looking beef up their team with an NXT call-up.
According to PWInsider WWE is eying Hideo Itami for a promotion to the main roster. Per the report, Itami would join the RAW brand as part of the 205 Live division. Itami’s name has been perpetually rumored as bound for WWE but his debut is still unclear. At this moment, as soon as WWE constructs creative plans for Itami, then he’ll be heading for 205 Live.
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The 36-year old grappler has been in NXT since 2014 however due to injury, Itami has missed plenty of time and opportunity. Before reaching WWE, Itami worked on the independent circuit as Kenta where he wrestling alongside the likes of Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins.
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While Itami may have a more of a cult following in NXT, he will be mostly obscure to WWE fans. Ironically this may be an advantage. When NXT stars come up, they bear the weight of some cumbersome expectations. Even more, Superstars like Bayley and Finn Balor arrived in WWE rigidly attached to the NXT characters. This meant WWE would have to ride out their NXT penalties until they hit a wall. Unfortunately for most NXT grads, the wall unavoidably awaits them after about 3 months.
However, for Itami, he will arrive in WWE with a clean slate. Even more, he’ll be joining 205 Live, a show that suddenly is budding with personality. While his debut won’t come with the same fanfare as Asuka or Bobby Rude, Itami is likely just as talented.
By targeting Itami, WWE would continue to reassert that they are committed to 205 Live. Despite the sudden departure of Neville, the Cruiserweights have ballooned in relevancy, mostly in thanks to Enzo Amore. However, if WWE continues to feed the Cruiserweights time and energy, they may have a pretty good show, after all.
Follow Jack Snodgrass on Twitter @CheekyJobber
