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What's the story?
The much-awaited NOAH return of Hideo Itami, unfortunately, ended up in defeat for the WWE 205 Live superstar, as he was defeated in a thrilling singles contest by veteran Naomichi Marufuji on his 20th Anniversary.
In case you didn't know...
Prior to signing with the WWE in 2014, Japanese sensation Hideo Itami was formerly known as Kenta Kobayashi competed for top Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he is a former one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion and a three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion as well.
During his stint with NOAH, Itami also competed for American promotion Ring of Honor Wrestling, before arriving on WWE’s developmental promotion NXT in 2014.
The heart of the matter
At Naomichi Marufuji's recently concluded 20th Anniversary show, billed as "Flight", WWE sensation Hideo Itami received a pretty warm reception on his homecoming, as the former GHC Heavyweight Champion returned to his former promotion for the first time since 2014.
Upon his return to NOAH, Itami was defeated by NOAH's ace and former 3-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, Naomichi Marufuji who eventually used the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion for the three-count, after the 34-minute mark. The finish came shortly after Marufuji kicked out of Itami's GTS finishing maneuver, but Marufuji was resilient enough to kick out of it at two.
After the match, Marufuji was also presented with flowers by the entire NOAH locker room, lead by Go Shiozaki, as the former GHC Heavyweight Champ thanked all his fans for the love and support and ended by thanking Itami as well.
What's next?
As of right now, Hideo Itami will be making his return to the WWE, where he is currently competing under the 205 Live brand, however, it'll definitely be interesting to note if the former NXT star will be returning to NOAH anytime soon or not.
Another thing that fans should watch out for is another potential crossover over between NOAH and the WWE.
