Yuka Sakazaki has not been released by All Elite Wrestling, despite rumours swirling that she had parted ways with the group after mysteriously disappearing from their roster page.
This - for now at least - just looks like a web admin error rather than a reveal of her contractual status or future with the company, as she has been placed back on the page as normal.
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The 'Magical Girl' joined All Elite Wrestling, working the company's debut pay-per-view Double Or Nothing in May 2019, but hasn't done anything for the organisation now in almost a year. Sakazaki lost a Ring Of Honor Women's Championship match against Athena in March 2023, but hasn't wrestled for either AEW or ROH ever since. She worked 17 more matches in 2023, but all were for Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. She's yet to step into the ring anywhere in 2024 thus far.
Further to that, it's been three years since she was involved in any sort of contention for the AEW Women's Championship. In February 2021, she lost an Eliminator Tournament final to Ryo Mizunami, who ultimately went on to face and lose to then-Champion Hikaru Shida.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
