Last week, reports surfaced that WWE had banned Superstars from slapping their legs when executing a kick. 

The trick has been used by wrestlers for generations to create a sound effect that helps sell both the contact of the action and the emotional intent behind it. 

But it's no more in WWE. 

According to Dave Meltzer, the leg slap is now banned and there's even signage backstage in the gorilla position that reads 'Do not slap leg when kicking.'

He added that the new doctrine came about after Vince McMahon saw someone do a fairly obvious slap on an episode of SmackDown and got upset.

It's currently unknown how WWE will actually enforce the new rule when it's broken, but Shawn Michaels has had his say on it. 

HBK, who mastered the art of the superkick with his Sweet Chin Music, says that the business is constantly evolving and urged modern-day stars to embrace the changes. 

"Clearly I look back and I go, OK I did it. I just did one," Michaels told the New York Post.

"I’m always of the cloth, I can remember when I started people telling me 'too fast, too much, too this' and there’s a balance there.

"They were right in some respects and at the same time, the business also evolves and changes. Football isn’t played the same. Basketball isn’t played the same, so I don’t know. 

"I’m somebody that embraces those changes. I feel like somewhere in the middle and balance is so important.

"I appreciate the style of today. I appreciate the athleticism of the performers of today. Are they perfect? No. But neither were we."

It's certainly ironic that Michaels, a man who undoubtedly used the 'leg slap' countless times during his career, is now telling his NXT trainees not to do it. 

But as he says, the business is evolving and perhaps it's time for WWE Superstars to find a new way to sell their moves.