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Kairi Sane Teases Huge Move Following WWE Release

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jul 23, 2026 11:00 EDT
kairi sane wwe
Kairi Sane is a former 3-time Women's Tag Team Champion - Source: WWE.com

Kairi Sane has shared a personal update 3 months after being released by WWE.

Sane enjoyed two stints with World Wrestling Entertainment, the first taking place between 2016 and 2021 and the second from 2023 to 2026. She had previously represented World Wonder Ring Stardom, a women’s Japanese wrestling promotion, for six years.

After signing her WWE contract, Kairi Sane debuted on NXT in October 2017, where she became a one-time NXT Women’s Champion.

Sane’s main roster debut occurred in April 2019 as part of a tag team duo with Asuka, managed by Paige, which was later named “The Kabuki Warriors.”

At that year’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, they won the Women’s Tag Team Championship by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. In 2020, she was appointed as the ambassador and trainer for WWE’s division in her home country of Japan. In December 2021, she left the company after he contract expired.

She competed in Stardom and New Japan Pro-Wrestling for another year before re-signing with the Stamford promotion.

Sane returned at the 2023 Crown Jewel PLE, helping IYO SKY retain her Women’s World Championship against Bianca Belair. She subsequently became a member of Damage CTRL, where other members included SKY, Dakota Kai, and Bayley. Asuka, too, joined soon.

The Kabuki Warriors were revived shortly afterward, leading to Kairi Sane and Asuka winning the women’s tag titles two more times.

Before her departure in April 2026, Sane was involved in a long-standing storyline with Asuka and IYO SKY, where Asuka was jealous of SKY’s friendship with Rhea Ripley.

On April 24, she was one of the 20+ talents let go by the company as part of the post-WrestleMania release tradition, abruptly ending the storyline.

Kairi Sane Announces Free Agency

Kairi Sane took to Twitter to share an edgy picture of herself beside a motorcycle, captioning it, “How Far I’ll Go… See you soon.”

While she did not make any direct reference to it, the post coincided with the end of her 90-day no-compete clause with WWE, establishing her as a free agent.

Sane’s next wrestling destination is open to speculation, but she will likely stay in Japan. The 37-year-old’s post comes at an opportune time with AEW All In: London set to take place at Wembley Stadium next month.

Should Sane choose to return to the United States, All Elite Wrestling could very well be a viable destination. The women’s roster in the Jacksonville-based company is stacked, putting on watchworthy matches time and again.

Other wrestlers who have now become free agents are: Bo Dallas, Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Erick Rowan, Zelina, Aleister Black, Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin), Santos Escobar, and Zoey Stark.