Kairi Sane unable to get WWE permission to work Stardom show

According to Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kairi Sane asked but was unable to get permission from WWE to work Stardom’s March 3rd show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Pegged as the biggest show in the company’s history, Stardom was interested in having Sane (Kairi Hojo) in a high profile singles match or even in the legends Royal Rumble-style match if it made it easier to get permission. Still under contract to WWE and working as a Japanese ambassador for the company, the request was denied.

Sane left WWE and returned to Japan in July to be with her husband. Meltzer said there was talk about her working for Stardom upon her return, but she still has time left on her WWE deal.

The 32-year-old initially signed a three-year contract in March 2017, winning that year’s Mae Young Classic with a finals win over Shayna Baszler. She won the NXT Women’s title over then-champion Baszler in August 2018, holding the title until October when Baszler beat her to regain it.

She was called up to the main roster in April 2019, teaming with Asuka as the Kabuki Warriors, managed by Paige. The duo won the Women’s Tag Team titles in October 2019 at Hell In A Cell and held the titles for a record 180 days before losing them to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross at last year’s WrestleMania. Sane spent time on both Raw and SmackDown during her run.