Hideo Itami should be up there with the likes of Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe as one of the most memorable NXT Superstars of all-time but a lengthy hiatus due to injury saw him passed by and when he finally returned, there wasn't a lot for the man formerly known as KENTA to do.
In recent months, he's been appearing on 205 Live but following reports that he had asked for his WWE release in order to return to Japan, WWE has confirmed the news.
"WWE has come to terms on the release of Kenta Kobayashi (Hideo Itami)," WWE said in a short statement on their website. The news doesn't really come as a huge surprise and it's previously been reported that they were happy to let him go because he's heading back to Japan rather than All Elite Wrestling.
It's a shame things have panned out this way but, if we're lucky, we'll see plenty of him back in Japan where he can really steal the show. As always, stay tuned for updates.