In October of 2016, World Wrestling Entertainment scouted and pursued Japanese standout Kairi Hojo, amidst their women’s revolution and ahead of their first ever Mae Young Classic, all-women's tournament. Kairi,who, along with Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani, was referred to as one of the best overall wrestlers in the world in 2016 by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, decided to sign with the WWE and was assigned to NXT in the Summer of 2017. From there, Kairi, now known as Kairi Sane, entered the Mae Young Classic. In a tournament commentated by wrestling legends Jim Ross and Lita, Kairi defeated future Impact Wrestling World Champion Tessa Blanchard, Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, and future NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm, before defeating MMA veteran and 4 Horsewoman Shayna Baszler in the tournament finals.
It is only fitting that this be the first article on this section of the MX3 Content Network, because I am a self-described Kairi Sane mark. So, with all bias established, I need to address Kairi’s recent WWE departure, and how WWE completely whiffed on her as a performer. I must acknowledge first, though, that on paper, Kairi is a decorated performer in the WWE. Her resume of accolades looks like this:
Mae Young Classic Winner, 1 Time NXT Women’s Champion, 1 Time and (as of now) Longest Reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, 2 time Wrestlemania Battle Royal Entrant, 1 Main Card Wrestlemania Match, 3 Royal Rumble Appearances.
Despite these accolades, Kairi was an underutilized talent throughout her entire tenure in the WWE. With the exception of the Mae Young Classic, where she was treated like a history-making superstar, Kairi was always treated like an afterthought, who was good enough to be in the picture, as long as she wasn’t in the foreground. Even in NXT, where she was booked by Triple H, a fan of hers, she only held the Women’s Championship one time, and it was for a short 71 days, the second shortest recognized reign in history(and the shortest if we are going by actual days and not days recognized by WWE). During her championship reign, she was placed into a rivalry with the aforementioned Baszler, who was actually the perfect opponent for Kairi. Kairi is one of those characters like Daniel Bryan, Johnny Gargano, and Sami Zayn who, when trying to be a babyface, just seems so likeable, relatable, innocent, and deserving. Add in her being undersized but also having amazing wrestling abilities, a la Dean Malenko, and her character and in ring work go perfectly against the tall, mean, rugged Shayna Baszler. Although their rivalry and matches were quality, Kairi defeated Shayna before giving the belt back at Evolution within a 2 and a half month stretch of time. From there, Kairi returned to the background, where she teamed with her best friend Io Shirai before reentering the Championship picture for a farewell NXT match at Takeover: New York, where she unsuccessfully competed against Bianca Belair, Shirai, and Baszler. On WWE’s best wrestling brand, Kairi was underutilized.
Longtime hardcore fans of WWE realize that a majority of NXT stars are misused, and, eventually, ruined, upon their arrival to WWE’s main roster. So, when Kairi Sane, who was already a background player in developmental, was called up to the main roster, I had my reservations. However, she was placed in a newly formed tag team with Asuka, who had already been Smackdown Women’s Champion and won a Royal Rumble, and was to be managed by Paige, former Divas Champion and subject of the biopic Fighting with my Family, produced by The Rock. With the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships being only a few months old, and being placed with Asuka and Paige, it seemed that Kairi would carve out a quality niche for herself. It seemed obvious that Asuka and Kairi would take the belts off of the IIconics and run roughshod over the Women’s Tag Team Division. However, WWE’s main roster struck again, and the Women’s Tag Team Championship belts were removed from television and Paige was removed as the manager of the Kabuki Warriors. When the belts returned, they were given to the makeshift team of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, in a match that involved Asuka and Kairi. Then, months later, when Asuka and Sane finally got the titles, they turned heel and changed their character.
While I personally enjoyed the Kabuki Warriors as heels, I felt as though WWE ruined the best part about Kairi, how lovable and adorable, yet badass and resilient she was. The fact of the matter is that WWE is horrible at booking babyface characters, and that is why guys like Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano, who I referred to previously, were forced to change their characters despite being fantastic natural babyfaces. They, like Kairi, play their heel characters quite well, but the point is that WWE Creative can never leave well enough alone. And, in Kairi’s case, being left without her lovable character, without a mouthpiece, and with a Championship that meant nothing, she was never taken seriously by the audience or the creative team. To make matters worse, Asuka and Kairi returned the tag belts to Bliss and Cross at Wrestlemania in a match with no heat and decent wrestling at best, with Kairi taking the pinfall. Following ‘Mania, Sane became Asuka’s vulnerable friend who was injured twice at the hands of Nia Jax, before becoming a pawn in the Raw Women’s Championship feud between Asuka and Sasha Banks. At the time of her departure, Kairi had a 2 month long championship run, an underwhelming and unnoticed tag team run, and a few month stretch as Asuka’s lovable jobber friend.
Kairi Sane claimed that she was so thankful for WWE, that she had so many opportunities, and that she spent everyday in happiness while working for the company. Having your character removed, your matches dumbed down, your promos diminished, your platform ripped away, and your health put in danger would leave any person angry and disheartened. However, Kairi Sane, who had her character destroyed, was underdeveloped and not at all promoted as a worker, and was injured not once but twice in a month by the same person, spent everyday in happiness.
I know I’m marking out here, but the fact of the matter is that Kairi Sane had a fantastic theme song, a unique attire, the aura of a natural babyface, a genuine connection with the crowd, the best elbow drop since the Macho Man, and the speed and technicality of some of the very best in the business. She should have had a genuine run with the NXT Championship. Her and Asuka should have been given a platform to have tag team matches against Royce and Kay, Deville and Rose, Bayley and Banks, Flair and Lynch, Bliss and Cross, and women from NXT, without being treated like an afterthought. And, had she chosen to stay, or had creative gone a different route in the past, her character and in ring work should have been on display so that her talents were recognized and promoted. I mean, imagine pure babyface Kairi Sane wrestling a heel Sasha Banks, wrestling current Bayley, wrestling Charlotte Flair. Imagine her against heel Io Shirai or heel Asuka. Imagine the storylines and match quality. I am disappointed, but not surprised, that WWE couldn’t deliver on any of these fantasy matches and rivalries.
A fan only of WWE’s main roster probably see’s Kairi as being interchangeable and lacking talent, connectability, marketability, and a character. This is because the WWE has no idea how to package talent, especially women and especially babyfaces. Kairi Sane is genuinely one of the best wrestlers in the world, and, as a mark for her, I hope that her next run in the WWE, her debut in AEW, or her return Stardom, if any of those happen, are more successfully and exciting than her underwhelming run in the WWE over the previous 3 years.
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