In February of 2019, KENTA finally marked his departure from WWE. Within the next few months, the former NXT sensation was once again in the news, as he made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling and announced his entry into the G1 Climax 29.
KENTA's signing with NJPW also meant that the Japanese sensation was once again eligible to use his Go To Sleep finishing maneuver, a move which was banned in WWE after Hideo Itami had injured Brian Kendrick in a match on 205 Live.
The Bullet Club star recently posted the first-ever GTS that he had executed in his career in a match against Mitsuharu Misawa from his early Pro Wrestling NOAH days in the 2000s. While KENTA still remains as the innovator of the move, former WWE Champion CM Punk also played a vital role in popularizing the GTS. However, the former accused the Chicago native of stealing the maneuver.
KENTA accuses CM Punk of stealing the GTS
Current New Japan and Bullet Club star, KENTA recently commented on the first-ever GTS that was executed by him in NOAH and additionally also took a subtle shot at CM Punk, who also had the move in his arsenal and eventually popularized it within a particular fanbase during his time with WWE.
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However, when a fan responded to KENTA's tweet by claiming that Punk does it better than him, the former replied by claiming that he doesn't really care about it and also claimed that he expects the former WWE Champion to pay royalties for the Go To Sleep move.
KENTA further went on and took more jabs at Punk by claiming that he is better looking than the latter and in doing so, also involved his NJPW arch-rival Yoshi-Hashi in the process, as well.
KENTA's run in NJPW so far
Having signed with NJPW in 2019, KENTA has had quite the amount of success with the promotion and has transitioned himself as one of the biggest heels in the promotion today. Initially starting out as a babyface, the former WWE star went on to align himself with the Bullet Club and captured the NEVER Openweight Championship.
In the aftermath of the historic Wrestle Kingdom 14, KENTA also attacked newly crowned IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito, and unsuccessfully challenged the latter for both his titles recently.
Nevertheless, despite the loss, KENTA still remains a vital part of the NJPW roster and especially is still considered a vital asset of the Bullet Club, as well.