A vignette on the latest NXT 2.0 revealed that Sarray is on her way back to NXT with a completely new look and persona.
After her arrival in WWE was delayed due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, Japanese sensation Sarray (formerly known as Sareee) finally made her NXT debut on April 20, 2021, defeating Zoey Stark.
Since then, the young star has had a mixed record in the promotion, suffering her first loss against Dakota Kai in August. After another loss to Kay Lee Ray on the November 9th episode of NXT, Sarray took to Twitter with a message of self doubt.
Sarray is lost. Nothing I do is working as planned. Why can’t I win…
Sarray is lost.
Nothing I do is working as planned. Why can’t I win…#WWENXTpic.twitter.com/bdCtKjBEty— Sareee (@SarrayWWE) November 10, 2021
The following week she revealed that she was back in Japan but did not provide any further information about her reasoning or a timeframe for her return, just that she would be back “soon.”
Sarray is back in Japan. But don’t worry I’ll be back soon. Thank you everyone for your patience.
Sarray is back in Japan.
But don't worry I'll be back soon. Thank you everyone for your patience.#WWENXT— Sareee (@SarrayWWE) November 14, 2021
While she did have a match against Lash Legend on 205 Live in December 2021, the first time the NXT 2.0 audience heard from the star after her departure was on the January 18th episode in a vignette that showed a completely new side of the performer.
In the vignette, Sarray was wearing round black wire framed glasses, a large cardigan, and had her hair in pigtails, a stark departure from the colorful attire we’ve seen from her in the ring. She began to narrate in Japanese against images of her losses in NXT. She said that nothing had gone as planned in NXT and that she needed to return to Japan to recover, but that finding a necklace (which was shown in the vignette as a large sun-shaped pendant) from her grandmother reminded her of her origins.
2021 was my first year here, but everything didn’t go as planned. I returned to Japan to recover both physically and mentally. At one point I wanted to give up.
But then I found the necklace my grandmother gave me when I was a little girl. Grandma was my hero. She was strong and taught me to never give up under any circumstances. Thanks to finding my necklace, I feel like I can conquer the world. This necklace reminds me who I am and where I come from.
Sarray continued in English, indicating that she is a different person inside the ring than she is out of it – but that she’s ok with both sides of her personality.
Inside the ring, I am the Warrior of the Sun, but outside, I am just Sarray. And that’s ok.
Now, I will return back to America and NXT with a new passion and energy.
The vignette did not provide a specific timetable for Sarray’s return, but said that she would be returning “soon.”
Before her time in NXT, Wrestling as Sareee, she appeared for World Woman Pro Wrestling Diana, SEAdLINNNG, and Sendai Girls Pro Wrestling.
The Japanese star is a former two-time World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Champion, former Sendai Girls World Champion, and JWP Junior Champion.