Hideo Itami vs Tyler Breeze

 

Finn Balor comes down to ringside to watch this match.

 

Hideo is totally in control, as Breeze continues to beg off and roll to the outside. He keeps saying “I’m not getting kicked!” Itami connects with a few takedowns until Breeze attacks him from behind. He begins the typical heel beatdown, hitting a neckbreaker and putting the boots to him in the corner. Tyler slaps on a side headlock and holds it for several minutes, taunting Balor.

 

Eventually the crowd claps Itami back into the match. He breaks the hold and delivers a few kicks and running dropkicks, then connects with a neckbreaker over the top rope that stuns Breeze. Hideo looking for the running kick but Breeze rolls to the outside. He goes for it again but ends up taking out Finn Balor and sending him over the barricade. Itami and Breeze fight back into the ring. Itami ducks under the Beauty Shot and connects with the one-leg droppkick for the win.

 

Winner: Hideo Itami

 

Hideo celebrates his win as Finn Balor gets up and shakes off the kick. Breeze attacks from behind and lays him out, but Balor makes the save. They tease Balor turning on Itami, but it ends with Tyler hitting the Beauty Shot on both of them.

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Three of NXT’s brightest Superstars will battle for the opportunity to challenge for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Unstoppable, as Finn Bálor, Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze will meet in a No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match. Each Superstar is more than worthy of a title match, but they’ll have to prove it inside the ring during the live broadcast on WWE Network.

 

Bálor emerged victorious from an eight-Superstar tournament earlier this year to win the No. 1 Contendership, defeating Curtis Axel and Itami en route to a showdown with Neville in the finals at TakeOver: Rival. Donning his demonic war paint, Bálor defeated the high-flyer with the Coup de Grace to earn a title match. The Irish Superstar came up short against NXT Champion Kevin Owens, but is eager for another crack at the title.

 

At last May’s TakeOver, Breeze defeated Sami Zayn to become the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Championship. Prince Pretty’s only one-on-one title match came in August 2014, when he challenged Adrian Neville, only for Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd to interfere, setting the stage for the Fatal 4-Way scramble that WWE.com placed among the best of the year. Since then, Breeze has been immersed in a rivalry with Itami, defeating the Japanese sensation in a grueling 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match. He recently set his sights on Bálor, making this Triple Threat Match a bit undesirable for Prince Pretty.

 

Itami may be the wild card in the equation. Since arriving in NXT, he has made his presence felt in high-profile bouts against The Ascension and Breeze, in addition to appearing on The Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania. However, the Japanese star has yet to challenge for a title in NXT. Hideo Itami is on quite a roll as of late. Could this be his golden opportunity?

 

Who will become the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Championship? Find out at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, live on the award-winning WWE Network on Wednesday, May 20, at 8 ET/5 PT!

[spoiler]
05/06
Finn Bálor comes out in a suit to do commentary for the next match, Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze. Itami gets the win with a Shotgun kick. After the match, Breeze jumps Itami but Balor makes the save. Breeze then takes them both out with a superkick on Bálor and a Beauty Shot to Itami.

05/13
Finn Bálor and Hideo Itami vs. Adam Rose and Tyler Breeze is next. Breeze gets the pin on Itami. Bálor and Hideo weren’t on the same page. Tyler kicks Rose post-match. It appears they were building to a three-way

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]
03/18
Finn Bálor defeated Tye Dillinger with a stomp. Tyler Breeze appears on the big screen and cuts a promo on Balor after the match.

04/08
Kevin Owens vs. Finn Bálor is next. Owens retains the NXT Title with a powerbomb after a long grueling match. There were said to be some amazing spots in this match. This was the end of the tapings.

[/spoiler]

Want to know what Finn is up to on NXT before it airs? Click “show” to reveal the spoilers.
[spoiler]
02/18
Finn Bálor cut a promo, and had a brief staredown with Rhyno.

02/25
Finn Bálor defeated Brian Kendrick.

Kevin Owens was on commentary for the match, and attacked Alex Riley after the match. He threw him over the desk and had a staredown with Bálor.

[/spoiler]

Reason No. 1: They’re world-traveled

NXT might be considered a developmental system for WWE, but that doesn’t mean Neville and Bálor lack seasoning. Before arriving to NXT, the Englishman Neville and Irishman Bálor competed for eight and 14 years, respectively, and during that time, they fought not only in their native countries, but also throughout Europe, Japan, the United States and Mexico.

According to Regal, this type of globetrotting — though a circuitous path to WWE — accelerates Superstars’ maturation as performers.

“Just traveling the world, and getting to live the highs and lows of what we do, makes you a better talent and a better performer,” Regal said. “And knowing what it takes to make it in Japan, the physicality of the Japanese wrestlers, it’s just a different world.”

Regal compared Neville and Bálor’s trajectories to those of WWE main roster Superstars Daniel Bryan and Cesaro.

“Those type of talents are used to being in difficult, strenuous situations; they’re used to the pressure of performing on a big stage,” Regal added. “Anybody who chooses that life and goes out there, it’s better for WWE because they’re more ready for the big show whenever they’re called up.”

Reason No. 2: They represent the death of the generic wrestler

The value of Bálor and Neville’s international exploits extends past their incredible poise.

“The days of just being a generic, punch-and-kick wrestler are pretty much over,” Regal said. “You don’t see those guys on our show anymore. Everybody’s very rounded, skill-wise.”

Leading the pack are Neville and Bálor. They’re frighteningly well-rounded — almost futuristic — and that goes hand-in-hand with their well-stamped passports. Neville and Bálor carry on a proud tradition of incorporating elements of different wrestling styles from around the world. In that sense, they share a lineage with names like Rollerball Rocco, Marty Jones and Tiger Mask. The unifying spirit is the same force Dynamite Kid rode into Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s, and that enlivened WCW’s cruiserweight division during the Monday Night War, Regal said.

“It should never have been classified as a weight class — they’re just exceptional talent, no matter what size they are,” Regal said. “It all seemed to spread from there, mixing the best of the best of the styles from different parts of the world. Neville and Bálor are definitely two fellows that continue that great tradition.”

Reason No. 3: They’re respectful risk-takers

So often, Superstars are brought into conflict because of a personal grudge. Over the years, the WWE Universe has seen everything from sordid love triangles to vengeful plots give cause to big-time matchups.

Not Neville vs. Bálor. Instead, these two respected peers are battling for a coveted opportunity at the NXT Championship. After Bálor secured his place in the No. 1 Contender’s Tournament Final, he celebrated not by talking trash about The Man That Gravity Forgot but, rather, by shaking Neville’s hand.

Don’t mistake mutual respect for timidity. Former NXT Champion Neville is in dire need of reclaiming the title, while Bálor looks to establish himself as a main-event player in NXT for the first time. One Superstar (Neville) seemingly creates new aerial maneuvers every time he steps in the ring, and the other (Bálor) so thoroughly shocked the NXT Universe with his metamorphosis at December’s TakeOver: R Evolution that fans are still buzzing about it.

Both men left high-paying jobs abroad to try to make it in WWE, and neither is taking his experience in NXT for granted. During a roundtable discussion last September, Neville admitted he “never really expected to be [in WWE].” Bálor, then fresh to NXT, called WWE “the great unknown.”

Don’t expect Neville and Bálor to shy away from taking big risks.

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