For the second-to-last match of NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Bobby Roode defended the NXT Championship against Hideo Itami.
The second-to-last match of NXT TakeOver: Chicago saw Bobby Roode defend the NXT Championship against Hideo Itami, the latter of whom had his first TakeOver match since February 2015’s Rival show. Saturday was also Itami’s first NXT Championship Match since arriving at WWE in 2014.
These two battled in the semi-main event, but who walked out with gold? Did we get a chaotic finish?
A surreal spotlight for Itami, who looked to make the most of his opportunity. However, he had to sit back to the latest “glorious” entrance of Roode’s to kick things off. His first “glorious” move of the evening nearly got destroyed with a GTS, which sent him running down the ramp.
The match had its slow buildup, like all of Roode’s seem to have. Itami worked in a lot of the kicks that once made him famous and went to taking down the champion.
Here comes your GLORIOUS @WWENXT Champion @REALBobbyRoode! #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/CdY4HErnDj
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
Ready... set... GO TO SLEEP?! @HideoItami wastes NO time getting down to business! @REALBobbyRoode #NXTChampionship #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/NiBwFGLuKI
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) May 21, 2017
.@HideoItami goes AIRBORNE in an effort to flatten the champ! @REALBobbyRoode #NXTChampionship #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/9YCZfJ6C6g
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
Eventually, Roode took back over with his methodical offense, including a stiff jaw shot to Itami. This didn’t last long, though, with Itami’s stiff slap to the face and big-time kicks to the chest and face. It got things going in a faster direction.
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The psychology went to Roode’s shoulder, which looked hurt after being rammed into the ring post. Itami went for the injured body part, putting a hold on it and going to work on the former TNA star while he was vulnerable.
Roode couldn’t go for the Glorious DDT, with the shoulder coming back to hurt him. Itami then threw him shoulder-first into the apron, but missed a dropkick into the steel steps, hurting his ankle.
Itami’s leg gave out on a GTS attempt, which led to Roode hitting the Glorious DDT … but for a near-fall! It came that close and looked like we had the match ending. Itami then hit the GTS, but Roode rolled out of the ring to avoid the pin.
It got to the point where Itami just started slapping Roode silly. These were vicious, but after a failed GTS attempt, Roode hit two Glorious DDTs to secure the win.
One can argue there isn't ANYBODY in all of @WWENXT who strikes harder...or LOUDER than @HideoItami! #NXTTakeOver #NXTChampionship pic.twitter.com/Lux9NIU7XC
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
#GTS! But @REALBobbyRoode STILL manages to AVOID the pin! @HideoItami #NXTTakeOver #NXTChampionship pic.twitter.com/wvp4ya18YX
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
#NXTTakeOver: Chicago proves to be a #GLORIOUS evening for your winner AND STILL the #NXTChampion, @REALBobbyRoode! pic.twitter.com/LdHf2Hy1VP
— WWE (@WWE) May 21, 2017
The fourth quality match of the evening. This continued Roode’s title reign, while ending Itami’s hopes at the same time.
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We still have one match to go, and it’s with ladders. Will it top anything we’ve seen?