Tag: Kairi Sane

WWE Releases Multiple Superstars Across Main Roster and NXT in Major Talent Cuts

WWE has reportedly made another round of roster cuts, with a wide range of talent—from established main roster names to rising NXT prospects—being let go from the company.

As of now, the list of releases includes several recognizable names who have played key roles on WWE programming in recent years. Among the أبرز departures are Kairi Sane, Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, and Santos Escobar, all of whom have had significant runs on the main roster. The exits of Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas), Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan also stand out, especially given their ties to various factions and storylines over the past few years.

The tag team division has also taken a hit, with the Motor City Machine Guns reportedly parting ways with WWE. Meanwhile, Joe Gacy and Andre Chase—both heavily featured during their time in NXT—are also included in the cuts.

On the women’s side, Zoey Stark and Alba Fyre are among those released, along with developmental names like Tyra Mae Steele and Sirena Linton.

The list extends deep into NXT, with several newer or lesser-known talents also being let go, including Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe, Chris Island, Dante Chen, Malik Blade, Trill London, and Luca Crusifino.

At this stage, there’s no official word on whether more releases are expected, but the scope of the cuts suggests a significant shake-up behind the scenes. Situations like this often point to roster restructuring, budget considerations, or shifts in creative direction, particularly as WWE continues to evolve its talent pipeline between NXT and the main roster.

As always, talent releases can open the door for fresh opportunities elsewhere in the wrestling world, and it’ll be interesting to see where these performers land next. For now, though, the WWE roster looks noticeably different following this latest wave of departures.

As it stands, the following names have been released (so far):

  • Kairi Sane
  • Aleister Black
  • Zelina Vega
  • Uncle Howdy/Bo Dallas
  • Nikki Cross
  • Santos Escobar
  • Motor City Machine Guns
  • Dexter Lumis
  • Erick Rowan
  • Joe Gacy
  • Andre Chase
  • Zoey Stark
  • Alba Fyre
  • Tyra Mae Steele
  • Sirena Linton
  • Tyson Dupont
  • Tyriek Igwe
  • Chris Island
  • Dante Chen
  • Malik Blade
  • Trill London
  • Luca Crusifino
  • Carlee Bright 

Kairi Sane Returns to WWE Raw, Welcomed Back by CM Punk — But Faces Tough Loss in MITB Qualifier

After a five-month absence from in-ring action, Kairi Sane made her highly anticipated return to WWE on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw — and was greeted with a warm welcome from none other than CM Punk.

Before the show aired, Punk shared a photo from the ring alongside Sane with a simple but meaningful caption: “Welcome back.” WWE had previously confirmed earlier in the day that Sane was in Greenville, South Carolina, and was set to compete again for the first time since December.

Sane was added to a high-stakes triple threat match against Rhea Ripley and Zoey Stark — the winner earning a coveted spot in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, set for June 7th. It marked her first match since the December 2, 2024, edition of Raw, where she teamed with fellow Damage CTRL member IYO SKY in tag action against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Her planned involvement in the Intercontinental Championship tournament late last year was scrapped due to injury, making her return last night all the more significant.

Unfortunately for Sane, her comeback didn’t go exactly as planned. Midway through the match, Stark appeared to suffer a knee injury following a misfired missile dropkick, which led to her being helped to the back. That left Sane and Ripley to finish the bout, and it was The Eradicator who came out on top. Ripley delivered a decisive Riptide to secure the win and punch her ticket to Money in the Bank.

Sane may have come up short, but her return is still a major boost for WWE’s women’s division, and her connection with CM Punk could signal interesting storylines ahead. Speaking of Punk, he made his presence felt again later in the night, running in to help Sami Zayn and Jey Uso fend off a post-match beatdown by Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker in the show’s closing moments.

With Punk back in the mix and Kairi Sane stepping back between the ropes, Raw continues to reload with star power as the road to Money in the Bank heats up.

Stay tuned to WrestlingNewsBlog.com for more updates on Kairi Sane’s return, Zoey Stark’s injury status, and all things heading into WWE Money in the Bank 2025.

Kairi Sane Returns At WWE Crown Jewel, Helps IYO SKY Retain WWE Women’s Championship

Kairi Sane made her long-awaited return to WWE at Crown Jewel 2023. The “Pirate Princess” surprisingly appeared to aid Iyo Sky in retaining her WWE Women’s Championship over Bianca Belair. 

Sane addressed fans of STARDOM in October to announce that it could be the last time they would see her perform in the company, leading many to believe she was departing the promotion. Since then, multiple reports emerged to say that she was headed back to WWE, and it was recently indicated that she was listed on the internal roster and her return was imminent. Speculation turned to actualization during today’s event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Sane made a surprise appearance to help Sky. 

Delivering her patented flying elbow drop, it was the first time Sane had been seen in a WWE ring since she faced Bayley in July 2020, serving to add another crinkle to Damage CTRL’s storyline of tension between the “Genius of the Sky” and the “Role-Model”. Sky and Sane previously held trios gold when they wrestled together in STARDOM in 2016, but are set to stand shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time in WWE. Similar to Sky, Sane boasted reigns with both the WWE Women’s Tag and “NXT” Women’s Championships before her departure in December 2021.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Kairi Sane’s Potential WWE Return Date

PWInsider first reported Saturday night ahead of SummerSlam that former “NXT” Women’s Champion Kairi Sane was set for an “imminent” return to WWE. While she didn’t make an appearance at “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” Dave Meltzer is now reporting that Sane’s return is slated for later this year.

“Yeah, maybe November,” Meltzer said during the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio.” “She’s got two more dates in Japan I think that she’s scheduled for. Yeah, she’s coming back. As far as that goes, there is something to that because she left [WWE] because she wanted to return to Japan. And then when her contract was up, she started working at STARDOM, and she was going to be the big international star. New Japan was going to use her to come to the United States and things like that. I think what ended up happening was then they signed Mercedes [Moné] to kind of take that spot.”

He continued, “When Bushiroad took over and bought STARDOM, there was a lot of hope of the idea of, ‘The talent will get paid more, we’re gonna get Io Shirai back,’ which they almost did. That was the idea, and what’s happened is the Bushiroad wrestling side has not nearly been as profitable as they expected it to be because New Japan business is down… Kairi was going to work big shows and at a certain price probably. And there we go, she’s going back to WWE.”

Sane wrapped up her WWE in-ring career in July 2020 before transitioning into an ambassador role. Once that contract ended at the end of 2021, she returned to Japan and went on to become the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion.

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “Wrestling Observer Radio”

KAIRI Suffered Injury Days Before IWGP Women’s Championship Win

KAIRI made history by becoming the first IWGP Women’s Champion this past week, and did so while nursing an injury.

At NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over, KAIRI won the title in the main event of the show against Mayu Iwatani.

Taking to Twitter, the former WWE Superstar explained that she suffered a sprain during training, and nearly gave up because it hurt to walk.

“Four days before the match, during ring practice, I sprained myself in a flashy fall. I was told that it would take three weeks for a full recovery, and I almost gave up because it hurt to walk. However, with the support of many people, I was able to fight through the two battles with my willpower. really really Thank you very much.”

KAIRI left WWE’s weekly programming in 2020 and served as an ambassador for the promotion in Japan until her full departure earlier this year.

Since leaving, the former NXT Women’s Champion has earned a bachelor’s degree, competed for STARDOM and gotten married.

https://twitter.com/KAIRI_official/status/1594337785111990272

Source: EWrestlingNews

Kairi Sane To Provide Japanese Commentary For Hell in a Cell

J Sports WWE announced on Twitter that the Japanese version of Sunday’s Hell in a Cell PPV will have guest commentary from Kairi Sane. Kairi Sane recently moved back to Japan but is still working for WWE in a new role as promotional supporter.

The translated tweet reads: “The Japanese live version of the PPV tournament Hell in a Cell is a guest commentary by Kairi Sane. @KairiSaneWWE Is here! Maybe you can hear behind-the-scenes stories that you can’t usually know and behind-the-scenes stories of superstars. I expect it! The Japanese live version will be available from 6 pm on Wednesday, October 28!”

Source: 411Mania

WWE Reportedly Writing Kairi Sane Out Of The Company

Kairi Sane is reportedly returning to Japan to be with her husband.

While Sane is returning to Japan soon, she is scheduled to return to RAW soon as she is listed for the tapings being held today at the WWE Performance Center, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. These would be for the episodes that air on July 6 or July 13.

WWE has known about Sane returning to Japan since May, if not earlier. The move has been in the works for a while.

Sane has been out of action since suffering the cut on her head during the RAW match with Nia Jax, which aired on June 1 and was taped on May 26. This is why Sane has been off WWE TV but she has been cleared to compete since then. WWE made the decision at the time to not harp on the injury on TV, and pretty much ignore it publicly, which is why it was never played up and Sane hasn’t been talked about since.

The idea before that last Sane vs. Jax match was to do a career-ending injury angle with Sane at a later time, before it was time for her to return to Japan. That angle would have set up a SummerSlam match between RAW Women’s Champion Asuka and whoever they went with to put Sane out of action. The Observer noted that this has likely changed since Paul Heyman was dismissed from his role as RAW Executive Director. It’s believed that this spot would have went to either Charlotte Flair, who may or may not be back in time for the SummerSlam build, or Shayna Baszler. Original plans did not call for Jax to be the one who ended Sane’s WWE in-ring career.

There’s no word yet on what WWE has planned for Sane after she returns to Japan, but the Observer reports that there had been talk that once her contract was up, she would wrestle for one more year in Japan and then retire from action.

The 31 year old Sane was married to her longtime partner back in February of this year.

Sane signed a three year WWE deal back in March 2017. She worked the Mae Young Classic in 2017, and won the tournament by defeating Baszler in the finals. She would go on to become a one-time NXT Women’s Champion before debuting on WWE’s main roster in April 2019 after WrestleMania 35. She has held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles with Asuka on the main roster.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via Wrestling Inc.

Io Shirai Reportedly Unhappy In WWE NXT, Stardom To Offer Big Contracts To Shirai And Kairi Sane?

Io Shirai is said to be “not necessarily happy” with how she’s used in WWE NXT, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

The Stardom women’s wrestling promotion in Japan currently has a goal of bringing back Shirai and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane, but WWE may bring Shirai to the main roster to try and prevent that from happening.

This year is expected to be a big year for Stardom as New Japan Pro Wrestling parent company Bushiroad purchased them last fall and will put a lot of resources and marketing into the promotion moving forward. Meltzer noted that Stardom is looking to try and run bigger shows this year, but they recognize how it’s important for them to try and sign real stars, like Shirai and Sane. They both are already stars in Japan, but their runs with WWE will add to that.

Bushiroad reportedly wants to offer a lot of money to Sane and Shirai to stop them from re-signing with WWE. WWE may move Shirai to the main roster as her pay will then go way up. Meltzer noted that Shirai’s NXT pay is “nothing special” but she was making more money in Japan and working less dates, but because of her merchandise pay.

There was no further details revealed on why Shirai is unhappy in NXT, but besides that she has her fiancé back in Japan. Shirai and NJPW star Evil are engaged to be married, but there’s no word yet on when they will tie the knot.

There’s also no official word yet on when Sane and Shirai will see their WWE contracts expire. Sane reportedly signed a three-year deal back in March 2017. Shirai signed with WWE around the summer of 2018.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kairi Sane Medical Update Following WWE TLC

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane is currently not cleared to wrestle, according to an update from Pro Wrestling Sheet.

We’ve noted how there was concern over Sane possibly suffering a concussion in the main event of Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view, which saw The Kabuki Warriors retain their titles over Charlotte Flair and RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in a TLC match. The latest report notes that Sane was apparently knocked out during the first few minutes of the match. There’s no solid word yet on when she was put out, but that’s why she appeared to be out on her feet at various points in the match. WWE has not confirmed the concussion to Sane or any other injury as of this writing.

There’s no word yet on how long Sane will be out of the ring, but she was evaluated by WWE doctor after TLC and it was decided that she would be pulled from the ring for now.

Sane gave a minor update of her own on Monday, tweeting a thumbs up to indicate she’s doing okay.

https://twitter.com/KairiSaneWWE/status/1206666444370595840

Kairi Sane Possibly Suffers Concussion At WWE TLC

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane may have suffered a concussion during Sunday’s WWE TLC pay-per-view.

The TLC main event saw The Kabuki Warriors retain their titles over Charlotte Flair and RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in a brutal women’s TLC match, the first-ever for the tag team titles. The match included several big bumps for all four competitors. Sane was laid out on the outside of the ring for the finish of the match as Asuka retrieved the titles from above the ring. Bryan Alvarez of F4Wonline.com reports that Sane was checked out backstage after the show and the belief is that she suffered a concussion.

The report noted how Sane was not moving well after a certain point in the match, and how she didn’t take a normal bump when Flair hit her with the Spear at ringside, which could be a sign that she was already out on her feet by then. There was also a spot where Sane looked like she was struggling to get up for a powerbomb spot. It was speculated that she may have suffered the injury when she was hit in the head as Flair and was throwing the monitors around at ringside.

It was also noted that an official diagnosis will not be available until Monday afternoon at RAW. WWE has not announced any injuries from TLC and Sane has not commented.

Source: Wrestling Inc.