KAIRI has been riding high since leaving the WWE in late 2021. In February of 2022, she made her triumphant return to Stardom, and has yet to lose a match.
Her recent success has led to rumours that she may resurface at the WWE Royal Rumble event, scheduled to take place on January 28th, 2023.
WWE Interested In KAIRI Making Royal Rumble Appearance?
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer commented on the speculation over a potential KAIRI WWE return.
“Regarding rumors of Kairi Sane returning for the Royal Rumble, what we do know is that as of this past weekend there has been no contact from WWE to Stardom (Kairi is under contract to them now as IWGP women’s champion) asking for her. That could come later as WWE puts together that match and needs 30 women, but there is the obvious politics. Of course there was that same politics of using Mickie James from Impact last year and WWE did call later and put that deal together.”
With KAIRI being under contract to Stardom, she would obviously require approval to make an appearance on WWE television. She is the inaugural and reigning IWGP Women’s Champion, having defeated Mayu Iwatani for the belt at Historic X-Over, a co-promoted event between NJPW and Stardom. KAIRI is one month into her reign and is next set to defend her title at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 against Tam Nakano.
In his report, Dave Meltzer referenced a deal made between WWE and Impact Wrestling for last year’s Royal Rumble, which shows there is a chance for KAIRI to appear. Mickie James made history while making her entrance for her 2022 Royal Rumble appearance. She became the first person to wear an Impact Wrestling championship at a WWE premium live event. James was the reigning Impact Knockout World champion at the time.
The full card for Wrestle Kingdom 17, including the IWGP Women’s Championship bout, can be found here.