Why Hideo Itami Debuted On Raw Instead Of 205 Live

Everyone seemed to be expecting Hideo Itami to pop up on 205 Live this week but for some reason, he showed up on Raw to assist Finn Balor in taking out the Miztourage. Itami will still be a regular performer on 205 Live as a member of the WWE Cruiserweight Division, but Raw is the location where WWE decided to make his debut. But that left some people wondering why.

According to WrestlingNewsCo, the feeling backstage is that WWE wants to make the upcoming 205 Live tour seem as big as possible. This is the reason why Woken Matt Hardy will battle Bray Wyatt on the tour.

Not only is Hideo Itami a big name already, but the thought was debuting him alongside Finn Balor would give him a rub and make fans pay more attention to the man formally known as Kenta who might not realize his importance.

After all, Itami was already a huge international star before signing a deal to come into NXT. The truth is, Hideo Itami probably should have been on the main roster a long time ago, but injuries kept him on the injured list.

But now that Hideo Itami seems to be healthy and ready to go WWE is finally giving him a shot to show what he can do on the main roster. 205 Live will be his home and with good reason.

205 Live is embarking out on their first string of touring shows very soon so far ticket sales haven’t been the best. This is why an attraction like Woken Matt vs Bray Wyatt has been added to the shows. But Hideo Itami will also be there and WWE wanted to make his name as big as possible.

It shouldn’t be hard to sell Hideo Itami as a big deal either. Although he never achieved the NXT Championship while in WWE’s developmental territory, there is still a lot he can do and his skillset is going to add a ton of prestige to the already loaded 205 Live roster. It was also said that Rockstar Spud’s impending debut on 205 Live will hopefully bring more eyes to the product as well.