KAIRI Was Rumored For 2023 Royal Rumble Appearance Prior To Winning IWGP Women’s Championship
WWE wanted to bring The Pirate Princess to the Royal Rumble match in 2023.
KAIRI triumphed over Mayu Iwatani to recently become the IWGP Women’s World Championship. Contractual difficulties with Iwatani and the wish to have the title consistently featured in the United States were the causes behind this.
It was noted in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that there was talk of KAIRI making a surprise return at the 2023 Royal Rumble before the decision to crown her champion was made. KAIRI previously performed for WWE as Kairi Sane from 2017 to 2021.
An interesting part of that story is that it had been rumored Kairi would be in this year’s Royal Rumble, but those rumors were prior to the decision changing with her getting the IWGP women’s title, which could change the dynamic.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
KAIRI joined WWE in March 2017 and debuted there by taking part in the first Mae Young Classic. The ‘Pirate Princess’ ultimately prevailed in the competition, defeating competitors like Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, Toni Storm, and Shayna Baszler. She would continue to compete for WWE a further 3 years before leaving the company in 2020.
Follow Corey at @CoreyBrennanBS on Twitter
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.ⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘ
