MATCH: Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze
PROMOTION: WWE NXT
EVENT: Rival
YEAR: 2015
RATING: TV-PG for violence
GRADE: Pass
Hideo Itami signing with WWE was a long time coming. In Japan, Itami, then known as KENTA, was a staple of his home country’s pro-wrestling. The number of championships and awards he won while wrestling in Japan is absolutely ridiculous. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter readership took a huge liking to him since he won Best Wrestling Maneuver in 2006 and 2007 (Go 2 Sleep) and was one half of the Tag Team of the Year in 2003 and 2004. The award-winning move known as the Go 2 Sleep is a fireman’s carry into a knockout knee to the face.
CM Punk used that move to win multiple world championships in the WWE from 2006 to 2014 when he retired from wrestling. Another KENTA move that was used by a WWE superstar was the Busaiku Knee, which is basically a running knee to the opponent’s face (he sure loves kneeing people in the face). Daniel Bryan, who’s been with the WWE since 2010, uses the Busaiku Knee as his finishing move and won many world championships himself with that move. The newly christened Hideo Itami was a godsend to WWE NXT.
One NXT staple who didn’t exactly greet Mr. Itami with a warm welcome was Tyler Breeze. After Hideo Itami had a successful feud with The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), he and Tyler Breeze were part of a tournament to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship, which at the time was held by Sami Zayn. Itami and Breeze’s first encounter together was in the quarterfinals of that tournament. Hideo won in convincing fashion, but was defeated in the semifinals by longtime friend Finn Balor (formerly known as Prince Devitt in Japan).
The “Hero of Pain” wasn’t sour at all about losing to Finn Balor. He was sour, however, when Tyler Breeze beat him up in the locker room shortly after conducting an interview with Devin Taylor. Tyler, who had been hanging around in number one contender situations for a long time now, was sickened that an “uggo” like Hideo Itami would keep him from another crack at the NXT Title. And now we’ve got a rivalry that needs to be settled. What better place to settle it than NXT Takeover: Rival?
From the beginning of this match, it was highly apparent that Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami learned a lot about each other after their first match. They countered pretty much every move they could throw at each other and did so in an intelligent and athletic fashion. Remember, these two wrestlers are known for their speed, agility, and technique. If they’re going to move away from each other’s moves, they’re going to do so like a bolt of lightning. The feeling out process was fast and furious, which is weird for a feeling out process.
And then Tyler Breeze got the idea to target Hideo Itami’s legs. The Japanese superstar was at one time an amateur kick boxer, so when he kicks you, you’re going to feel it until the grave. Hell, it might be an early grave if he kicks you in the right place. Twisting Hideo’s legs in painful submission holds, dropping knees and elbows on them, even the occasional Dragon Screw (which is throwing someone down by their calf muscles) came off as intelligent strategy by Tyler Breeze. There was even one point in the match when Tyler not only slammed Hideo’s knees against the ring post, but also performed a Figure Four Leg Lock on them with the steel ring post as the fulcrum between Hideo’s legs and his groin. Ouch!
But if there’s one thing about Hideo Itami fans of Japanese wrestling know, it’s that no matter how savagely beaten up he is, his opponents will never take away his warrior spirit. If you had to spend years on end training for six hours a day in a wrestling dojo and then having to scrub down the gym, do laundry, and cook meals for the experienced wrestlers, you’d have a hard time giving up your warrior spirit as well (that is, if you don’t quit your first day).
Even with one injured leg after Tyler Breeze’s constant aggression, Hideo Itami still found the resolve to throw disgustingly strong kicks. And when Hideo threw them, Tyler sold them to perfection. “Prince Pretty” flew around the ring and grimaced in severe pain after each strike. Then again, even if you’re a wrestler who no-sells all of your opponents, you pretty much have no choice after taking a kick to the ribs, legs, and head. Even a lower corner drop kick is hard to regain oxygen from. And then we had the exciting finish to this match in the books: Hideo Itami knocking Tyler Breeze loopy with a single leg dropkick appropriately known as the Shotgun Kick. One, two, three, and your winner is Hideo Itami in a match that could be accused of stealing the entire show.
Ever since that historic badass match, Hideo and Tyler continued to feud over the number one contender status of the NXT Championship, which was taken away from Sami Zayn at Takeover: Rival by 300-lb. Canadian juggernaut Kevin Owens. Some matches Tyler Breeze won while others Hideo Itami won. There was supposed to be a triple threat number one contender’s match at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable between Breeze, Itami, and Finn Balor. The match was watered down to a one-on-one battle when Hideo Itami suffered a serious shoulder injury that would keep him out for six to eight months.
If you haven’t learned anything about Hideo Itami from watching Japanese wrestling, then you should have learned something from watching him on NXT programming on the WWE Network. This guy doesn’t quit for anything. You can punch him, kick him, break every bone in his body, but as long as he still has the tiniest puff of breath in his lungs, he’ll never give up. A shoulder injury is just another obstacle for him to conquer, which he’ll no doubt do in convincing fashion. The rise of the Japanese warrior has only begun. Konnor and Viktor of The Ascension were the first to fall. Tyler Breeze was the second. When Hideo Itami returns to action, there will be a third.
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