:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70957827/1389400522.0.jpg)
Much to the delight of joshi fans everywhere, KAIRI is back in Japan wrestling for Stardom. Many WWE fans thought the wrestler formerly known as Kairi Sane could have been better utilized during her main roster run with that company, however.
If the Pirate Princess agrees, she didn’t say so explicitly in a recent interview with Entame Next. While translation (in this case via Slam Wrestling) makes it risky to read too much into her quotes, it does sound like KAIRI is proud of what she accomplished during her three years with WWE — and realized it might not get any better than that.
She mentioned it while discussing why she pursued a career in WWE in the first place:
“This is a personal story but I lost my best friend to illness. I swore in front of their grave and I promised to come true to WrestleMania. I definitely wanted to make that happen. I was able to participate in WrestleMania three times 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.
“Since I moved to the United States, my private life became secondary and that’s why I’ve been flying around and fighting at four shows a week without a break. Time suddenly came. Then, I took a closer look. ‘Where should I go from now on?’ At that time, I was able to fulfill my promise to my best friend and I had a sense of accomplishment that I was able to do everything I could in WWE within three years. I consulted with WWE several times and decided to leave the company.”
The 33 year old, who married toward the end of her time with WWE, is focused on Stardom now, especially considering how New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s sister promotion has grown since she was last there in 2017. But as we could tell by the send-off she got and her stint as the company’s ambassador in Japan, it doesn’t seem like the door to The ‘E is closed for KAIRI...
“Vince McMahon smiled and said to me: If you want to come back, come back to America anytime.”
Loading comments...