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| His injury is shoulder Photo Credit: WWE.com |
In the wake of Sami Zayn suffering a shoulder injury on RAW, another top NXT star has suffered an undisclosed shoulder injury. Hideo Itami's specific malady has not been disclosed yet, but it's serious enough that he will miss up to eight months of action. He was booked at Takeover: Unstoppable in a three-way match with Finn Bálor and Tyler Breeze, but the only question right now is whether he will be removed completely or if he will be taken out early.
With Itami and Zayn now on the shelf, NXT has taken a massive hit in terms of starpower. Additionally, Kevin Owens has recently missed time for surgery and has a history of back and knee problems, and Bálor also has had problems with his wheels. The risk of taking well-traveled indie/puroresu stars is that they may have injury histories, but having half of the big imports on the roster go down at the same time is just bad luck. It could also be the reason why Uhaa Nation is being shunted to television only a month after signing.
Still, Itami's injury is the could not have come at a worse time for him. He was riding the high of appearing at WrestleMania and having a behind-the-scenes look at his journey to the Andre the Giant Battle Royale that helped boost his narrative outside of murking fools with his style, which happens to be kick. Additionally, NXT is a bad bump from either Owens or Bálor or a freak injury to Breeze from a renewed Baron Corbin or Bull Dempsey push to the main event. It just goes to show how chaotic and tenuous a business wrestling is sometimes.