No real winner. Itachi didn't beat Sasuke and Sasuke didn't beat Itachi.
The usual way for Kishimoto to not hurt any fandome, by implementing handicaps and PnJ ending.
Do you like this wussie way?
What are you complaining about? The rest of this fight may have been one-sided and lackluster, but come on: this was the perfect conclusion (if it IS concluded).
There are so many good developments that come out of Itachi collapsing...and hardly any bad developments:
1. Sasuke does not overpower Itachi in the end.
2. Itachi does not rip Sasuke's eyes out in the end.
3. Orochimaru makes a showing, quite possibly escapes genjutsu.
4. Sasuke's CS is gone, along with a shit-ton o' snakes. Summons still accessible, though.
5. The whisper from Itachi allows Kishimoto the option of going the good-guy route with Itachi, if he ever wants to develop Itachi that way.
6. The forehead-prod by Itachi. Gesture of brotherhood, and whatnot.
7. Side-affects of CS finally shown off. Oro's slave, indeed.
8. Itachi saved Sasuke from Orochimaru. That's right, I said it. The real brother beat Naruto to it, whether or not the latter inspired the former.
9. The detrimental effects of MS, which have been foreshadowing Itachi's loss, swing the results. It's been implied that the reason that Itachi was on the backpedal the entire fight was because MS was draining him, sight-wise and chakra-wise. This loss, I'm afraid, involved little to no PNJ. Itachi's loss, as a result, also proves that Sasuke was right to not seek the MS to begin with.
Please, explain to me...what about this is "wussy" ?