Kairi Sane becomes free agent as WWE contract expires
Kairi Sane’s WWE contract has expired, making her a free agent.
Dave Meltzer reported the news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
According to Meltzer, WWE wanted to renew her deal and have her return to the company but Sane didn’t want to live in the United States nor travel during the pandemic.
The 33-year-old moved back to Japan in the summer of 2020 to be with her husband. In February, Sane (Kairi Hojo) asked for permission to work on Stardom’s Budokan Hall event in March but the request was denied. Meltzer said Stardom would like to bring her back, but nothing has been set up in that direction as of now.
Sane signed with WWE in March 2017 and after winning that year’s Mae Young Classic, she became the NXT Women’s Champion in August 2018. A year later, she was called up to the main roster and won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with Asuka.
Sane’s last match was a July 2020 win over Bayley on WWE Raw.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.