Former NXT Women’s Champion and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane hasn’t wrestled since suffering an injury during a match with Nia Jax on the June episode of Monday Night Raw. Reports have since popped up via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Fightful regarding her future with the company, but things took yet another turn this weekend. WWE originally announced that a Champion vs. Champion match between Asuka and Bayley would take place on this week’s Raw with Sane and Sasha Banks in their respective corners.
However, by Saturday all mentions of Sane were pulled from the match’s advertising.
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It will be CHAMPION vs. CHAMPION when #WWERAW #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka goes one-on-one with #SmackDown #WomensChampion @itsBayleyWWE (w/ @SashaBanksWWE) this Monday! pic.twitter.com/mDRfGA4x42
— WWE (@WWE) July 4, 2020
Dave Meltzer recently wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Sane has recently been cleared to compete. It also mentioned that WWE had initially planned on having Sane depart from television via a career-ending injury, one that would lead to Asuka seeking revenge in a title match at SummerSlam.
Meanwhile, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that WWE planned on having Sane return to Japan and serve as an ambassador for WWE. Little has been said about Sane’s status in the company since then, and Sapp added that any plans WWE had for more global expansion had been halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
At 31-years-old, Sane is already regarded as one of the best female wrestlers in the world. She rose to prominence on the Japanese wrestling scene by competing in Stardom from 2011-17, then made the jump to WWE by signing a contract in March 2017. Several months later she defeated Shayna Baszler in the finals of the first Mae Young Classic and promptly jumped to the NXT division. In April 2019 she was brought to the SmackDown brand by Paige as one half of The Kabuki Warriors. She and Asuka hold the record for most days as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at 180 days.
WWE’s next pay-per-view, The Horror Show at Extreme Rules takes place on July 19 at te WWE Performance Center. Check out the full card (so far) below:
- WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
- Wyatt Swamp Fight: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt
