32 result(s) found
In what has been a developing story, several names linked to AEW have received backstage updates ahead of All Out 2026, including Kairi Sane, Dani Luna, Sheamus...
As previously affirmed by PWMania.com, previous WWE star Kairi Sane has changed her representation, hiring brand-new management. Sane updated her social media b...
The wrestling world was buzzing as as previously relayed by PWMania.com, erstwhile WWE star Kairi Sane has changed her representation, hiring new management. Sa...
In what has been a developing story, as confirmed by PWMania.com, several wrestlers, including the Motor City Machine Guns, Aleister Black, Zoey Stark, Kairi Sa...
After a six-month hiatus due to injury, Kairi Sane made a remarkable return to WWE RAW on May 19, 2025. Her comeback match, a Triple Threat qualifier for the Wo...
She’s a friend. There have been several teams throughout the years in WWE and some of them develop quite the friendship during their time together. Every so often you will see that friendship continue after the wrestlers leave a promotion, but it is much rarer to see it continue when one star is in a different promotion entirely. That was on display over the weekend. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: On The Mend: Update On Injured AEW Star’s Recovery Status Over the weekend, Mercedes Mone, better known as Sasha Banks during her time in WWE, defeated Kairi to become the new IWGP Women’s Champion. A fan shot video from the match shows Mone’s former partner Bayley in the crowd, helping lead chants for Mone. There was no mention of Bayley being at the show and she was not recognized in any way. Bayley and Mone were the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. This was a cool visual. Check out Bayley in the crowd, plus the two in their WWE days: [This post contains video, click to play] [This po..
Call her a champion. Mercedes Mone, known as Sasha Banks in WWE, has won her first championship as a member of the NJPW roster. She defeated Kairi for the IWGP Women’s Championship at NJPW’s Battle in the Valley show in San Jose, California. From Bleacher Report: NJPW sold out tickets to Battle in the Valley after Kairi vs. Mercedes Moné was announced and it showed as the crowd erupted as it began. It was the loudest the audience in attendance got all night. Mone entered the arena wearing new gear as a tribute to the late Hana Kimura. You could see how much she reveres Japanese wrestling, and how much this moment means to her. The former WWE star hasn’t wrestled since May 13, 2022, but she hasn’t missed a beat. The Blueprint dominated early on with the crowd behind her, but Kairi came roaring back. It looked like the champion could retain when she locked in the Ikari, but Mone fought out and cinched in her trademark crossface. Then, Kairi hit her staggering spinning back fist to f..
She’s a name. We are just over two weeks away from the end of the year and that means it is time to start getting ready for the start of the Road To WrestleMania 39. The first step in that process is going to be the Royal Rumble, where several stars are going to be needed to fill in the show’s namesake matches. You will often see names from outside the company popping in, and now we might be set for another one. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: RUMOR KILLER On Chris Jericho And Sasha Banks’ New Japan Payoffs According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, New Japan’s Kairi (formerly known as Kairi Sane in WWE) is rumored to be part of the Women’s Royal Rumble match. However, this plan may have changed as Sane is now the IWGP Women’s Champion. WWE has brought in talent from other promotions before, as Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James competed in this year’s Women’s Royal Rumble, with Impact Wrestling being acknowledged on the broadcast. Sane was a big deal in WWE. Check out som..
The Boss is heading overseas. According to a report from PWInsider, Sasha Banks is expected to appear at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event next month. It is unknown in what capacity she will be used, if at all, during the show. Banks has not wrestled since she and Naomi walked out on WWE before the May 16 episode of Raw. Both women were upset about the creative direction of their characters, and were subsequently stripped of the Women’s Tag Team Championships. From the report: Back in October, Varnado teased the idea of wrestling former WWE star KAIRI in STARDOM, which shares the same corporate owner as NJPW and recently did a crossover event with NJPW. Banks has been training at a number of places in recent months in the United States and Mexico. Banks recently made a number of trademark filings related to her given name as well as the terms Mercedes Mone’, Mone’ Talks, Bank Mone’, and Statement Maker under company name Soulnado, obviously preparing for her next m..
Welcome back? The Royal Rumble is taking place later this week and that means it is time for fans to speculate on who might be in the show’s namesake matches. While WWE announces a good number of the match participants in advance, there are still several spots left to go. Some of those wrestlers will be making returns, but now we might have an idea of one of the bigger surprises. According to Fightful Select, Kairi Sane has been discussed as a potential women’s Royal Rumble participant, though it is not clear if she will be a part of the match. Sane has not wrestled July 2020 and has since relocated to Japan. She is still under WWE contract until February, though there is nothing to suggest that she will be wrestling for WWE again. There are currently twenty one names announced for the women’s Royal Rumble match. Opinion: This is one of those situations where I will believe it when I see it, as Sane has been gone for over a year and a half now. Sane is a very talented wrestler though..
That’s it for her. There have been a lot of changes to WWE in the last year and a half, with more names leaving than most people can hope to remember. That is not a good thing to see, as it leaves a lot of wrestlers without a place to go. Some of them are a bit luckier than others though, and now one of them has officially wrapped up her time as part of WWE. Earlier this week, former NXT star Kairi Sane officially removed WWE references from her social media accounts. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sane’s WWE deal has officially expired and she is allowed to work anywhere. WWE had wanted Sane to return to the company to wrestle, but Sane had no interest in living in the United States again. Sane recently opened a gym and wants to return to wrestling, though it is not clear where she will go. Sane was a heck of a star in WWE. Check out some of her time in the company: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post c..
So much for that? A lot of people have left WWE over the last few years and not all of them have been voluntary. Several of them been forced out of WWE through a long series of releases, though that has not been the case every single time. There are a few people who have wanted to leave WWE on their own accord and that might be the case again, albeit in a slightly strange way. According to Wrestlinginc.com, former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and NXT Women’s Champion Kairi Sane has removed references to WWE from her Instagram account. Instead, she is now listed as a former WWE and NXT star. Sane has left WWE as an active wrestler but has served as a non-wrestling ambassador in Japan. There is no word on whether Sane might be considering a return to the ring. There is also nothing to suggest any heat between Sane and WWE. Sane was a heck of a star in WWE and NXT. Check out her time in the company: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..
Not so fast? While WWE is the pinnacle of the wrestling business for a lot of people, it might not be the end goal for everyone in the business. There is nothing wrong with that, and sometimes a wrestler might get there and then want to go somewhere else. That might be due to something in the business or something personal, but one wrestler considering leaving WWE might not be going so soon. There are a lot of international stars in WWE and one of the most entertaining is Kairi Sane. She has a special charisma to her and the Insane Elbow is one of the best finishers around. While Sane has certainly had some success, she has never had that great moment that would send her up to the next level. Earlier this week, news broke that Sane would probably be leaving WWE to head back to Japan, but that might have been jumping the gun. According to Talksport.com, WWE is making an effort to keep Sane under contract, including offering her more money, as they want her to stay and see value in her..
Monday Night Raw Date: May 25, 2020 Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe It’s Memorial Day and that means the tributes will be strong this week. We’re also on the road to Backlash and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. We do at least already have a World Title match with Drew McIntyre defending against Bobby Lashley. Odds are we get more gaming hijinks between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. Let’s get to it. We open with a long Memorial Day video. Opening sequence. There are NXT wrestlers around the stage to act as a makeshift audience. It took long enough. We start with the Kevin Owens Show and he likes having the fans around here too. Owens brings out Asuka as his guest and that means a quick plug for the Man/Mom shirt. Owens: “Now available at WWEshop.com”. We see clips from last week of Nia Jax attacking Kairi Sane but getting taken out. Before we can see where that goes, here’s Charlotte to say..
Welcome home. Last month at Elimination Chamber, Sasha Banks and Bayley made history by becoming the first WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The move came with a bit of a surprise, as Bayley and Banks promised to defend their titles against anyone, either on Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live or NXT. They even showed up on a recent episode of NXT, and now they’re going a step further. They’re NXT legends for a reason. Check out the Boss N Hug Connection back where it all started: [This post contains video, click to play] WWE has posted a video of an NXT live event from earlier this week where Banks and Bayley were in attendance in Largo, Florida to watch a women’s tag team match featuring the Sky Pirates (Io Shirai and Kairi Sane) vs. Aliyah/Vanessa Borne vs. Rhea Ripley/Reina Gonzalez. The match ended in a no contest with the Sky Pirates being quadruple teamed. Bayley and Banks ran in for the save and posed with the Sky Pirates after the match. Opinion: This is the kind of surprise t..
NXT Date: November 21, 2018 Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson After everything that went down on Saturday, it’s time for a little breather. That tends to be the best thing that you can get the week after Takeover and that’s even better the day before a holiday. There are some matches from before Saturday’s Takeover, which tend to be pretty entertaining in their own right. Let’s get to it. We open with the traditional long form recap of Takeover. Opening sequence. Keith Lee vs. Fidel Bravo The fans sing about basking in Lee’s glory so the much smaller Bravo shoves him in the fans and demands respect. Lee takes him into the corner for a double chop to the chest, followed by the Supernova for the pin at 1:59. Result: Keith Lee b. Fidel Bravo – Supernova (1:59) Video on Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler. Baszler doesn’t want to talk about Duke and Shafir getting involved in her match. We look back at Kassius Oh..
Was there really another option? The Women’s Revolution has changed wrestling in a variety of ways, with the main focus being on the women of WWE actually looking important after years of being treated as filler or sideshow attractions. Now things have changed considerably for the better, with WWE actually having some of the biggest stars in the world. But who is the best? Pro Wrestling Illustrated has released its annual PWI Female 100 list, ranking the top 100 female wrestlers in the world. The list was topped by current Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, who made her debut back in April at WrestleMania 34. This list ranks names from October 2017-October 2018. PWI’s list is more based on a kayfabe perspective, with wins and losses playing a large role in the rankings. Here’s the top ten: 1. Ronda Rousey 2. Alexa Bliss 3. Charlotte Flair 4. Io Shirai 5. Asuka 6. Shayna Baszler 7. Carmella 8. Nia Jax 9. Mayu Iwatani 10. Kairi Sane Opinion: It’s hard to argue with Rousey having the t..
Mae Young Classic Date: September 5, 2018 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, Renee Young Well it worked the first time. This is the first episode of the second edition of the tournament and this year’s version is being shown a little differently. Instead of having big batches of four episodes at a time, it’s a weekly show every Wednesday after NXT, which is probably a better idea. I’ve done my best to avoid spoilers here so let’s get to it. All matches are first round matches. We open with a look at last week’s tournament, with Kairi Sane defeating Shayna Baszler in the finals. Various women talk about how important it is to win the second tournament. Opening sequence. The announcers welcome us to the show. Zatara is a masked wrestler from Chile. She wants to show the world how great her country can be and says she’s smart. Tegan Nox (better known as Nixon Newell) is from Wales and is influenced by Molly Holly, who did ..
Save the date. Tournaments have always held a special place in wrestling fans’ hearts but now they’ve turned into a much bigger deal in WWE. It’s rare to not see at least one big tournament a year at this point, often at Full Sail University. Whether it’s the Cruiserweight Classic or the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, there’s almost always something big going on. Now, we might know the taping dates for another major WWE tournament later this year. According to Wrestling Observer Live, the Mae Young Classic II will be taped on August 7 and August 8 at Full Sail University. If the same pattern as last year is used, the two days of tapings will be put together into four episodes each and released on the WWE Network at the same time. Last year’s tournament, won by Kairi Sane, saw several future NXT names make their debuts, such as Sane, Shayna Baszler, Dakota Kai and several others. There are no names announced at this point. If nothing else, we might get another awesome opener like this...
Before the Mae Young Classic last year, a lot of potential names were rumored for the tournament. One of the biggest names was Io Shirai from Japan. Unfortunately, she was not available for the event and didn’t participate because of prior dates with Stardom. Despite not being able to compete in the tournament, there were still rumors about her signing with the company. However, it was reported that a heart issue during her pre-signing medical evaluation spooked WWE doctors and she was not signed as a result. Related: Why Did WWE Pass on Signing Top Japanese Star? It took some time, but it’s being reported by WrestlingNews.co that Io Shirai and WWE may be willing to resume negotiations to bring the Japanese superstar to the company like Asuka and Kairi Sane before her. Shirai recently dropped the Wonder of Stardom Title and a lot of people are taking that as a sign of a potential move to WWE very soon. Here’s a taste of what “Purple Thunder” is capable of doing inside the squared c..