Unable to hide his frustration over losing to NXT Champion Bobby Roode at TakeOver: Chicago, Hideo Itami revealed a decidedly dark side in his match with Oney Lorcan. The brutal exchanges between the two hard-hitters, which included Itami slapping Lorcan across the face and Lorcan uppercutting Itami out of the ring, were expected.
What wasn’t anticipated, however, was the way the usually noble Itami gained the upper hand (by playing possum), or the way he excessively beat on Lorcan once he had him down. Itami lit up Lorcan three times with the Go-To-Sleep, but never attempted to pin him. He threatened a fourth GTS, but Kassius Ohno ran into the ring and stopped him, telling Itami, “This isn’t you.”
A shoving match ensued, with Ohno reluctantly pushing Itami to the mat. Staring down Ohno the whole time, Itami exited the ring slowly, leaving NXT fans to wonder if Itami and Ohno’s alliance has reached a breaking point.