Kairi Sane Refused WWE Return Before Release

New backstage details on Kairi Sane's WWE departure, which happened this week.

by Andy H Murray
Kairi Sane
WWE.com

Speculation that Kairi Sane had departed her ambassadorial role with WWE circulated earlier this week, when the former NXT Women's Champion removed references to the promotion from her social media accounts.

Dave Meltzer has now confirmed that Sane's contract with the promotion recently expired. Writing in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he notes that WWE wanted to re-sign Kairi to a new deal and have her wrestle again, though Sane didn't want to relocate back to the United States.

COVID-19 related travel restrictions make going back and forth between the US and Japan impractical at the moment, though there's no indication that this factored into Kairi's decision.

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Sane, 33, has teased wrestling again on social media, though nothing has been confirmed yet. Meltzer writes that her old home promotion, Stardom, would like to bring her back, though a comeback isn't something that's in the works at the moment.

Kairi hasn't wrestled since the 20 July 2020 episode of WWE Raw, after which she returned to her native Japan in order to be with her husband. She was retained by WWE as an ambassador despite this.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.