While not officially official, the cat is pretty much out of the bag regarding Kairi Sane’s future.
All of our most reliable news outlets have confirmed she finished up with WWE at yesterday’s Raw taping. Which is why it raised eyebrows when she beat Bayley Dos Straps clean on the episode that aired last night (July 20), countering the SmackDown & WWE Women’s Tag champ’s finisher into a pinfall.
Get you a friend like @WWEAsuka.@KairiSaneWWE just PINNED #SmackDown #WomensChampion @itsBayleyWWE on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/9NdmM2yiPD
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020
Word is Sane is moving back to Japan to be with her husband, but she’s on “good terms” with the company and could act as an ambassador for them in her home country. It could be that going out victorious is a way to enhance her value in that role - especially considering her main roster run with the company has had its fair share of downs to go with the ups like last night’s win.
Another possibility is that Bayley could get her win back. If Kairi is still working this week rather than yesterday being a hard stop date, WWE is supposed to be filming two weeks worth of SmackDown episodes at the Performance Center today. The Role Model doesn’t sound done with the Pirate Princess.
Kairi Sane is done for
— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) July 21, 2020
Yes, a BEATING is definitely what she needs https://t.co/SS6Ic44h5I
— Bayley (@itsBayleyWWE) July 21, 2020
Then there’s this...
There's a lurking backstage.#WWERaw @QoSBaszler pic.twitter.com/zG0LIvUJzL
— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020
The first reports about her departure included a plan to have Asuka’s SummerSlam opponent take Sane out in-story, writing her off and giving The Empress motivation for her next big feud. Shayna Baszler and Kairi have a ton of history from the Mae Young Classic and NXT. It would be a fitting way to “go out on her back.”
And if she finished up yesterday, they were also supposed to tape next Monday’s episode at the PC on July 20...
Stay tuned.