Hideo Itami is an entrant in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

[Hanley!]

He defeated Neville and Balor in an NXT tournament to win the spot at Wrestlemania 31.

Boooooooooooring.

Why wouldn't they pick Neville ahead of this dull bastard?

[Locke]

I'm guessing politics/age. He's older, more experienced, maybe more impatient to get to the main roster than the other two who are killer successes in NXT but would possibly fall off the radar in the main roster. I feel, however, that a Japanese wrestler will always be misused in WWE main roster so long as Vince is alive.

[Str8Shooter]

Good for him, I would have expected someone else right now but I won't fault him for it. I'm a fan of his and I think he's only going to get better as he becomes more accustomed to North America, both in and out of the ring.

I do think this decision likely has something to do with WWE wanting more Japanese eyeballs on Mania on Sunday though knowing he's in there and announcing it ahead of time.

[Hanley!]

The match probably isn't very important, especially now that it's been booked to the pre-show. Given the likes of Neville and Balor probably received more focus in NXT over the last while - and Balor even defeated him in a match - they're probably just trying to keep Itami looking like a star by finally giving him a win that means something.

On that level it makes a kind of sense. And if Neville debuts on Raw after Wrestlemania in a hot segment, then I won't mind at all that he missed out on this spot. But for the time being I'm disappointed, because Itami is still dull as anything and I'm not looking forward to seeing him in the match. I thought the NXT performance in the battle royal might be a mini-highlight for me, but now that looks very unlikely.

I wish he'd improve a bit, because I'd love to see a Japanese star do well in WWE. But his character is limited and I've found his matches so far (with the exception of one against Balor) quite boring. Maybe this is a chance for him to turn that around though.

[The Legend]

So wait, there's two matches on the kickoff show now? So they have seven matches for the four hour show? I don't particularly like those decisions.

[Hanley!]

So wait, there's two matches on the kickoff show now? So they have seven matches for the four hour show? I don't particularly like those decisions.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It doesn't seem like enough. But there's going to be a lot of filler to make up that extra time. I'd be surprised if Hogan didn't show up for a segment, maybe with some other legends. There's going to be a band playing, so that'll probably be 15-20 minutes gone. Then there are the video packages for all the matches (those I actually enjoy, though not every match needs one).

I still think a good Wrestlemania should have about 9 matches on the main card. Most three hour pay per views manage 7, so it doesn't seem like enough for a longer show.

[Kirbi]

Much disappoint.

[VaderBomb]

Fucking awesome! He's one of my favorite wrestlers, been a huge fan for almost a decade. His match against Balor was a dream match for me. KENTA worked for mostly for NOAH and Devitt worked mostly for NJPW, so their paths never crossed in singles competition to the best of my knowledge. They'd worked against each other in tag team matches only.

It is interesting that they didn't choose Neville considering we all figured that he'd be the next guy to debut to the main roster, but I'm not disappointed. Itami is much better than Neville as a storyteller and overall wrestler and the closer we get to seeing Bryan face one of his biggest rivals of his pre-WWE career will do nothing else but make me giddy with anticipation.

[The Legend]

So wait, there's two matches on the kickoff show now? So they have seven matches for the four hour show? I don't particularly like those decisions.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It doesn't seem like enough. But there's going to be a lot of filler to make up that extra time. I'd be surprised if Hogan didn't show up for a segment, maybe with some other legends. There's going to be a band playing, so that'll probably be 15-20 minutes gone. Then there are the video packages for all the matches (those I actually enjoy, though not every match needs one).

I still think a good Wrestlemania should have about 9 matches on the main card. Most three hour pay per views manage 7, so it doesn't seem like enough for a longer show.

Yeah, 7 matches for a four hour show is averaging a half hour per match almost, even with extra filler thrown in. When you count that I would bet on Sting/HHH not lasting a really long time, Taker vs Wyatt I hope is on the shorter end, otherwise I figure it's a lot of lying around, and the Divas tag match won't last long at all and I would guess that Reigns vs Lesnar will be on the shorter side for Mania main events because of it's brawling and physical intensity. I mean at this point they've got to be counting on the ladder match and Rollins/Orton to both be near ironman proportions to fill out the card.

Also, what band is performing? I hadn't heard that.

[Hanley!]

The drummer from Blink 182 said that he's performing at Wrestlemania in a recent interview. Not actually with Blink 182 though, it was with a group of other performers I didn't recognise.

Fucking awesome! He's one of my favorite wrestlers, been a huge fan for almost a decade. His match against Balor was a dream match for me. KENTA worked for mostly for NOAH and Devitt worked mostly for NJPW, so their paths never crossed in singles competition to the best of my knowledge. They'd worked against each other in tag team matches only.

It is interesting that they didn't choose Neville considering we all figured that he'd be the next guy to debut to the main roster, but I'm not disappointed. Itami is much better than Neville as a storyteller and overall wrestler and the closer we get to seeing Bryan face one of his biggest rivals of his pre-WWE career will do nothing else but make me giddy with anticipation.

Have you been watching him on NXT though? I respect that he might be a great wrestler, but he hasn't found the right balance in WWE yet. You might think he's a better wrestler than Neville, but in WWE Neville absolutely smokes him. He's miles better. There's no comparison. Itami has only had one good televised match since he got to WWE.

I know we've had the WWE form vs prior form argument a bunch of times, but I do think his form in WWE is definitely a better indicator of what we can expect from him in this battle royal and how much fans will want to see him perform in it. From that perspective, you couldn't begin to convince me that Neville or Balor wouldn't have been better choices here.

So far Itami has been the biggest let down for me in NXT. I'm sure it's probably because he's still getting used to the WWE style, or because WWE have asked him to change the way he works. But either way the output has still been disappointing.

[The Legend]

Apparently there will also be Skyler Grey (best known for that "I'm Coming Home" song with P. Diddy that the WWE have already played to death, Kid Ink - some rapper I don't know and David Guetta, whose name I've heard, but I couldn't identify any of his work. Seems to be an interesting grouping of artists that I'm not real sure how they will all tie together.

[Messiah]

I can't be the only one hoping Tyler Breeze interrupts Itami's entrance and knocks him out with the Selfie Stick before taking his place in the battle royal.

[The Legend]

I can't be the only one hoping Tyler Breeze interrupts Itami's entrance and knocks him out with the Selfie Stick before taking his place in the battle royal.

That would be AWESOME!

[prophet]

I'm not a fan of both the decision to bump the Battle Royale and making Hideo Itami an entrant. Don't get me wrong I'm thrilled we won't have to suffer through the clusterfuck of the multi-man match but I'd be lying if I said I was completely fucking bummed out that The Miz and Damien Mizdow's explosion won't be happening on the main show, their slow-build has been perfectly done and it's deserving of a bigger platform. Hopefully they devote a good few minutes to those two on the main show in any capacity.

Itami on the other hand isn't at all deserving of competing at Wrestlemania, he's definitely been dull to watch in NXT and whilst a brilliant wrestler it's clear he won't be anywhere near the main roster in the near future so why not give the stage to someone like Neville (who is head and shoulders better than Itami) to wow a big crowd for one or two minutes, busting out the Red Arrow and what not, so people begin to look forward to his eventual debut.

I think Neville was the clear choice (especially if he's going to appear on the RAW after 'Mania), the only reason I can think of to give the win to Itami is because they had that Japanese HoF elect in the audience at the time. I'm a big KENTA fan, I'm not yet a fan of Hideo Itami.

[DBSoT]

I really don't see being in the Battle Royale as any sort of prize so it doesn't bother me at all that Itami is going to be in it. I would rather Balor and Neville's debuts be something interesting and special instead of just being some random competitor in a clusterfuck pre show battle royale. No one will remember this debut. I was hoping more for Breeze because his antics would mesh better with a match like this.