WWE News: Hideo Itami hugs a weeping Shinsuke Nakamura backstage after his final match
What's the story?
As revealed first by Fightful, Hideo Itami has handed in a request for his release from the WWE and the Japenese star seems to have already wrestled his last WWE match.
During the latest episode of the #205Life web series, Itami was seen hugging an emotional Shinsuke Nakamura after he worked his final match on last week's 205 Live.
In case you didn't know...
After spending a majority of his career in Japenese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah where he won most of the major titles and attained legendary status, Itami signed with the WWE in 2014.
Itami, who as popularly known as Kenta and is credited for creating the Go To Sleep finishing move, began his WWE run in NXT with great promise. However, a complicated shoulder injury that kept him out of action for over a year derailed his WWE career. He suffered another untimely neck injury that further hurt his WWE prospects.
Itami made his main roster debut as part of the Cruiserweight division in 2017, however, the call-up didn't account for much as Itami continued to slide down the ladder of irrelevancy.
After months of reports of his apparent unhappiness doing the rounds amongst the dirt sheets, the 37-year-old seems to have finally made the decision to walk away from the company.
The heart of the matter
Last week's episode of 205 Live marked the end of Itami's WWE career and it was a tear-jerking post-match atmosphere as Itami was given a standing ovation at the Gorilla position.
He was first seen hugging Nakamura, who held on for long and was visibly pretty sad with Itami's departure. Itami then hugged Asuka and Arn Anderson before the video came to an end.
Itami also touched upon the struggles he had to face during his time in the WWE including his difficulties in picking up the English language. Check out the clip from the web series below:
What's next?
Itami's WWE story could have been so much better had he stayed fit and without sustaining any major injuries. Nonetheless, we wish him nothing but the best in all future endeavours.