On May 20 at , Itami was scheduled to face Finn Bálor and Tyler Breeze in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship; however, Itami was ruled out due to injury after an attack he suffered before the event started. This was made as Itami had suffered a legitimate shoulder injury, which required surgery and was expected to sideline him for six months. In January 2016, it was reported that Itami had suffered complications with his shoulder and was "nowhere close to being able to return".