Is there still a place for Hideo Itami?
 

Doesn't feel like he really picked up too much steam before his injury derailed him, and now that Nakamura is the token super-over Japanese guy, and with some young prospects in the CWC, does KENTA still have a place in NXT any more? Was never a major fan myself, but was interested to see if he'd live up to the hype.

No, not on NXT. He is probably only there to get ring-rust out. He'll be Smackdown soon.

Heel in the Cruiser division is the place for him

Who?

KENTA. Orginator of The GTS and Knee Plus.

So Japanese Punk..... I'll pass he was bland when he came in, and still bland on his return.

There is still a spot for him in NXT I think. Not the spot that they envisioned but he is still valuable down there especially if more call ups happen later this year. With the WWE Cruiserweight do is on returning g there is also a spot for him on the main roster.

I think he is doomed

He doesn't have the charisma/style of Nakamura, and he doesn't have the "looks super Asian" of Ibushi.......... just kind of "in the middle" with everything, and nothing makes him stick out......

Cruiserweight would be a great place for him. With his lengthy absence, though, they will need to give him a ton of exposure so he can "connect" with the crowd, be it face or heel.

He is good, he strikes hard and performs well. He just needs that "character".

This.

The Orient Express v2.0

Nakamura, Ibushi, Itami

I remember watching him alot in NOAH, and he in fact did have quite a bit of charisma. He had this badass, bruce lee swagger, which for whatever reason, he hasn't tapped into during his nxt run.

I think he'll be fine, if he shows that side of himself again, but the way he is now, isn't going to get over on the main roster.

Great angle would be if they movved him to raw, and it comes out that it was balor, not owens that attacked him. The story writes itself. Itami wad the hottest new signee at the time, moreso than balor, so he gets him out of the way and ascends to the top of nxt.

I agree feel like the name change threw him off and he hasn't really grasped the Itami character yet. Injuries have a lot to with it as well as he hasn't had the opportunity to get into the flow of things.

To fair, he wasn't even around very long before he got injured. I think this thread should be put on hold and revisited in couple months, when he's really had a chance to settle in and do stuff.

That's a valid point, I just find anything I read/see of him now, I keep thinking of he's "lost his spot" to Nakamura. Even listening to his theme song on YouTube I feel like the token Japanese theme is so much better done with Nakamura.

Boy I hope cedric alexander doesn't get hurt. He'll lose the black guy spot to rich swann.

Now now. :roll:

I understand the complaints, but you also have to remember that KENTA was one of the coolest wrestlers on the planet for a while. His charisma takes a completely different form to Nakamura's.

There's a part of me that wants to see him return as a he is -- just an ass kicking wrestling machine -- but there's another part of me that wants to see him given a gimmick. Something to make it appear like he's got some sort of movement. Something embodying revenge. I'm sure there are enough minds that are connected enough to Itami, to Japanese culture and to the product to really bring that out of him.

I've always liked the idea that it was Finn Balor that was behind the attack. In my perfect world, he's leading The Balor Club coming out of SummerSlam, so Seth Rollins is going to need allies...

Another option is that Daniel Bryan signs him, talks about how inspiring KENTA was to Bryan's own personal career, and Itami just kicks the shit out of Tyler Breeze and Fandango before winning the IC Title or something.

I think Takeover just answered that...

Part of me thinks they should have saved his return fof that. Not like he's done anything signifigant until tonight.

All you haters can go to sleep now.

This thread is super racist

But sadly valid.

KENTA however is world class best in the world level guy. Get him healthy, give him time between the bells and he'll rise to the top of any card you place him in.

Yeah, that's the other thing. He hasn't even to my knowledge had a match over 5 minutes. That's why I said it's a little early for this thread. Give the guy a chance to do something of substance, then ask this question if it doesn't click.

But I can tell you right now, he'll be fine as far as in-ring goes.

He's had some lengthy matches against Tyler Breeze and probably some other people.....

I change my mind and say he does have a place..... because even though I still think he is kind of generic, I would still rather see him than No Way Jose or Cien Almas.

The crowd liked the GTS.

Kind of tempted to say they should just call him up to SmackDown and have him kick The Miz in the head.

Yes to him on NXT since he will get his own time to shine there before getting called up. His long injury setback hurts him way more for main roster stuff since before his best case scenario was the IC/US tier status for star power but now probably is as another Neville or Cesaro type star.

To be honest, I think that one of the reasons WWE even hired KENTA was so that nobody else could. There is precedent in them signing people with some sort of name behind them and some buzz just because that name and buzz isn't associated with WWE, and really not having any plans for them upon hire.

Then, there's the penchant for WWE thinking simply being x nationality IS a gimmick in and of itself... doubly true for anyone Asian, from TAKA to Kenzo Suzuki and so on. Only person who even remotely 180'd from that was Jimmy Wang Yang until Shinsuke showed up. Refreshingly, he got to remain pretty much who and what he is in and of itself instead of trying to repackage the guy into yet another "stereotype karate guy". Hideo Itami, unfortunately, didn't escape that fate.

Add into that the fact that CM Punk admitted ages ago that he wholesale lifted the GTS from him, and then fast forward to a time when they want nothing that any fans would remotely associate with Punk to get any sort of chance for chants on TV, and the guy couldn't even use his own finisher for ages.

Stripped of himself, his signature, and then a long injury hiatus... he seriously needs an overhaul to be able to gain any sort of traction again. Maybe- hopefully- this thing with Aries will be that spark. But this is WWE, so I've learned not to expect the best possible outcome automatically.

... I'm still waiting... :p

HEY, he got re-injured dammit...

There is no place Hideo Itami. There is a place for KENTA

Needs to prove he can stay heathy before more is invested in him.

I wouldn't mind seeing him in that angle that gets kicked around for Shibata: Miz's bodyguard. Have Miz verbally berate him from the get-go for months, with Itami acting like that is just him getting orders. And he pummel people for Miz.

Then, near the end of the run, having Miz berate him for losing a match, calling him worthless. Tami suddenly grabs the Mic and says "You know I understand English, right?"

Huge pop and instant drawing feud.

Japanese wrestlers can't get over in North America other than being comedy guys.

He should stay in Japania

Non english speaking wrestlers tbf

Maybe he's the answer to the question "How do you get Roode and Nakamura to the main roster without completely ransacking the NXT main event?"