Did WWE Ban Hideo Itami’s ‘GTS?’

Thanks to Hideo Itami’s “GTS” Brain Kendrick got a broken nose and fractured orbital bone for Christmas. However, despite the maneuver being a crowd pleaser of sorts, WWE may have already banned it from further use.

On the latest episode of 205 Live, Hideo Itami pinned Jack Gallagher to keep his hot streak alive. The results of the match are arbitrary, but how Itami finished Gallagher is of note. Typically Itami would hoist his foe upon his shoulders and let their lifeless carcass smash into his knee (that’s the GTS), but on Tuesday, Itami used the Rings of Saturn. Combined with the relevance of Kendrick’s Injury, the sudden change of finisher has the wrestling world asking if the GTS itself has been put to sleep.

While WWE has yet to officially ban the move, they may have already spoken by making Itami use the classic submission instead. In recent years, WWE has been militant in protecting the safety of its wrestlers and it would not be surprising if they did strip Itami of the move. This would be quite the shame given that the GTS was created by Itami himself during his younger days in Japan and he could have used it to kickstart his run in WWE.

The GTS is hardly a new move in WWE, which makes its banishment that much more peculiar. The fan will remember that CM Punk used the GTS throughout his prime in WWE. While he never broke anyone’s face, the move never had a reputation for being dangerous.

If the GTS is in fact gone, it will join the relative Dodo birds of WWE finishers like Seth Rollins‘ Curb Stomp and Randy Orton‘s punt. Let’s hop Itami has better luck finding a new signature move than Rollins has had in his attempt to replace his blacklisted move.