Why Kairi Sane Really Lost On WWE Raw Return

Kairi Sane made her long-awaited return to WWE Raw but the Japanese star found herself on the losing end of things for one very good reason.

Back in December 2024, as Jackie Redmond was interviewing the villainous New Day backstage, they were soon interrupted as Zoey Stark, Sonya Deville, and Shayna Baszler attacked Kairi Sane, trapping her arm in a heavy equipment box.

This attack led to Kairi Sane being pulled from a WWE title tournament, and she was forced to miss months of action due to a very real injury.

In her absence, Damage CTRL has fallen apart, with Asuka still out due to injury and Dakota Kai being released from WWE. But on the May 19 edition of Raw, Kairi Sane was back, but things didn’t go as planned.

Sane was part of a triple threat bout with Rhea Ripley and Zoey Stark, with qualification for Money In The Bank on the line. Unfortunately, Zoey Stark was badly injured in the bout and had to be carried to the back, leaving Ripley and Sane to continue alone.

Injury Causes Kairi Sane To Lose On Raw

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez noted that Zoey Stark had been the person meant to take the fall in the bout and with her having to be pulled from it, it was left for Kairi Sane to get pinned on her return to the ring by Rhea Ripley.

Dave Meltzer confirmed that Sane losing the pinfall on her return was not the plan, but WWE was left with no choice after the injury suffered by Stark.