UPDATE: PWInsider is now reporting that Itami has not yet officially received his release, but will be receiving one. He will be subject to a 90 day no compete clause and is expected to return ti Japan.
It seems that a few stars are trying to part ways with WWE at the moment, and the company recently issued a statement confirming that Dean Ambrose won’t be signing a new contract when his current deal ends in April.
Now another star is done with the company, as PWInsider is reporting that Hideo Itami finished up with WWE at this week’s SmackDown Live tapings.
According to the report, Itami asked for his release and his request was granted.
Hideo Itami’s signing was pushed as a big deal when he joined the company in 2014, and he went on to compete in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31 in 2015.
However, Itami missed a significant amount of time due to injury from 2015 to 2016, and he struggled to find the same success that some of his peers did in NXT.
He joined the 205 Live roster in November of 2017 and has been working as part of the brand ever since.
Hideo Itami recently changed his social media handles back to KENTA and he posted the following on Twitter:
THANK YOU.
— KENTA (@HideoItami) January 30, 2019
