Kairi Sane Explains Her Decision To Leave WWE And Rejoin STARDOM

WWE

Kairi Sane (KAIRI) has addressed her decision to leave WWE and rejoin STARDOM in Japan.

KAIRI left WWE in July 2020 to return to Japan and became an ambassador for the company in the country. During her time with the promotion, she won the NXT Women’s Championship and WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships with Asuka as the Kabuki Warriors.

Speaking to Entame Next (with translation via Reddit user DamieN62), KAIRI explained her decision to leave WWE.

She said:

“When I left Japan in 2017, I promised my fans that I would go on a long journey, but that I would come back grown up. I told that to President Rossy Ogawa (now Executive Producer). In the first place, my goal was to learn first-class professional wrestling, and I didn’t really intend to live permanently in the US. I thought about retiring from wrestling. This is a personal story, but I lost my best friend to illness. I made a vow at her graveside and promised to make it happen: I was going to participate in WrestleMania. I wanted to make it happen for sure. Thanks to that, I was able to compete in three WrestleManias, had a title match with Asuka as Kabuki Warriors, became a champion in both NXT and WWE, and even received an award for the NXT overall competitor of the year. After I moved to the U.S., my personal life was secondary to my professional life, and I was flying around and competing four times a week without a break, but then the pandemic hit, and I suddenly had time to myself. Then I took the time to do some introspection. I thought, ‘Where am I going to go from here? I had a sense of accomplishment that I had fulfilled my promise to my best friend and that I had done everything I could in my three years with WWE, and after several consultations with WWE, I decided to leave.”

When opening up on her decision to return to STARDOM when her WWE contract expired, KAIRI said:

“After I returned to Japan, I had not been watching professional wrestling with much enthusiasm. But when I went to Stardom’s Budokan last year, the feeling of “I want to fight with everyone someday” came up from my heart. However, even if I were to return, it would be the first time in about two years that I would be in the ring. The pacing of the matches and the rules were different from those in WWE, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to adapt quickly. However, I had been training in the gym even when I was not competing, so I was in good physical condition. Another aspect of my decision to return was that I was confident in my three years of learning and experiencing wrestling in WWE. I am proud of the fact that I once protected Stardom during a period of stagnation as a player president, and I am proud of the fact that I was at the forefront of WWE women’s wrestling during its reform period, and I am proud of the fact that I have overcome both of these challenges.”

Kairi Sane did various work for WWE after leaving the company as a full-time performer. She worked as an ambassador and did Japanese commentary for events.

Her contract expired in December 2021 before KAIRI returned to STARDOM in March 2022. She last competed for the promotion on May 28, teaming with Nam Nakano to defeat Queen’s Quest (Miyu Amaski and Utami Hayashishita).

Quotes via Fightful

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• stardom
• kairi sane
• japan
• wwe

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