Hideo Itami Made His WWE Debut A Day Early

So maybe it’s possible the Bálor Club has more than one member after all?

Hideo Itami, the NXT Superstar who was once a megastar in Japan who went by the name KENTA, was scheduled to join WWE’s cruiserweight division and was advertised to make his debut on 205 Live during Tuesday night’s episode on WWE Network. As it turned out, we got to open that Christmas present a day early! Or WWE opened it for us. Either way, early present!

During WWE Raw on Monday night, Finn Bálor was in a handicap match against both members of the Miztourage, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Axel and Dallas were unable to resist the allure of an extended 2-on-1 beatdown, and were disqualified after ignoring the warnings of the referee. The Miztourage continued the beatdown until Itami ran out to make the save for Bálor.

And yes, Itami even hit the Go 2 Sleep, a move he innovated and popularized, but which was brought to worldwide notoriety as the finisher for CM Punk. He’s taking it back!

For both Itami and Bálor, this is a real full-circle move.

Itami will still compete on 205 Live on Tuesday night, as planned, but an impactful debut on Raw is certainly a great way to make a splashy entrance. And don’t worry; Triple H made sure everyone knows who his boy is, as is the custom.

Welcome to the main roster, Hideo. Everyone else in WWE: I’m so sorry you have to worry about his kicks now.