Hideo Itami Officially Removed From “NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable” Match

Hideo Itami Officially Removed From “NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable” Match

NXT superstar Hideo Itami has been officially removed from the No. 1 Contender Triple Threat Match that will take place during “NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable” on May 20. As previously reported, Itami is slated to miss up to six-to-eight months of action to rehabilitate a shoulder injury.

Until WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events, and Creative Triple H revealed that Itami would be appearing during the NXT special, but would not be competing at the event, it was unsure of when WWE would publicly announce that Itami was out-of-action. Triple H revealed Itami’s status during a conference call with different media outlets on May 19.

Itami was slated to face-off against Tyler Breeze and Finn Bálor at “NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable.” The winner of the bout will be the No. 1 Contender for the NXT Championship, but Itami will not be included in the match.

Triple H did say that Itami would be a part of the special in a storyline capacity, but would not be working the match. How the company will address the injury, or whether or not the match will remain a Triple Threat Match (with someone replacing Itami), or change to a singles match has yet to be seen.

“NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable” airs live on the WWE Network on May 20 at 8 p.m. ET.

Editor’s Note:

I wonder what they’re going to do with this match. It would be awesome if someone like Uhaa Nation got thrown immediately in the mix, but it’ll likely just wind up being a singles bout between Bálor and Breeze.