In 2017, she signed with WWE, where she adopted the ring name Kairi Sane. She won theinaugural Mae Young Classic tournament the same year, and was then assigned to theNXT brand. She captured theNXT Women's Championship in 2018 and subsequently won the2018 NXT Year-End Awards for Female Competitor of the Year and for Overall Competitor of the Year. In 2019, she debuted on WWE's main roster, where she became a one-time and the longest reigningWWE Women's Tag Team Champion, along withAsuka as part ofthe Kabuki Warriors. The team also received2019 WWE Year-End Award for Women's Tag Team of the Year. In 2020, she returned to Japan to join her husband,[13] and worked as a WWE ambassador and trainer in her native country until December 2021 when her contract expired.
After her stint with WWE, she returned to World Wonder Ring Stardom in February 2022 and performed under ring nameKairi (stylized inall caps). She also performed forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where she was a one-time and inauguralIWGP Women's Champion. She became a free agent in March 2023 and returned to WWE at2023 Crown Jewel.
Early life
Kaori Housako was born on September 23, 1988, in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.[3][9][14] She has a sister, who is three years older than her.[15] She has an extensive sports background inyachting, competing in intercollegiate and national competitions, while also taking part in world championships with dreams of making it to the Olympics.[9][8][16] After graduating fromHosei University with abachelor's degree inJapanese literature,[17] Housako began pursuing a career inacting.[11] She also did some theater work and one of her performances, where she performed as aprofessional wrestlingvillain, was seen byFuka, the general manager of theWorld Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, who invited Housako to one of their events.[16] She quickly fell in love with professional wrestling's aspect of combining acting with sports and decided to become a wrestler herself.[11][16]
Housako started training with Stardom in 2011.[18] On November 14, 2011, she passed her "pro test" and graduated as part of Stardom's third class of trainees, alongsideAct Yasukawa,Natsumi Showzuki and Yuuri Haruka.[8][19][20] Housako, now working under the ring name "Kairi Hojo", made her debut for Stardom on January 7, 2012, losing toYuzuki Aikawa.[21] Playing off her yachting background, Hojo was dubbed "Pirate Princess".[12] She quickly became a founding member of the Zenryoku Joshistable, led by Aikawa.[11][22] In November 2012, Hojo formed a new tag team with Natsumi Showzuki, with the two finishing second in the 2012Goddesses of Stardom Tag League.[11] Zenryoku Joshi disbanded in January 2013, when Hojo unsuccessfully challenged her stablemate Yuzuki Aikawa for theWonder of Stardom Championship.[22][23] Hojo won her first title on April 29, 2013, atRyōgoku Cinderella, where she and Showzuki, billed collectively as "Ho-Show Tennyo", defeatedHailey Hatred andKyoko Kimura for theGoddesses of Stardom Championship.[16][24] Their reign, however, lasted only a month, as they were stripped of the title when Showzuki was sidelined with acervical spine injury.[25] Showzuki never returned from her injury, instead resigning from Stardom.[16]
On June 23, 2013, Hojo teamed withKaori Yoneyama andYuhi to defeatChristina Von Eerie, Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura for thevacantArtist of Stardom Championship.[26] They lost the title to Kimura,Alpha Female and The Female Predator "Amazon" on November 4.[27] In May 2014, Hojo made her Mexican debut by representing Stardom in theDragonMania 9 andLucha Fan Fest 8 events.[28][29][30] In August, Stardom's roster was split in half as part of a storyline rivalry between older wrestlers born in theShōwa period and younger wrestlers born in theHeisei period. Hojo, having been born in the Shōwa period, aligned herself with the likes ofNanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa.[31] On August 10, Hojo regained the Goddesses of Stardom Championship, when she and Takahashi defeated Alpha Female and Kyoko Kimura.[32] After an eight-month reign, she was again stripped of the title, when Takahashi was sidelined with an ankle injury.[33]
In February 2015, following an incident between Act Yasukawa andYoshiko, Hojo was named an intermediary between the wrestlers and management in order to bring the two sides closer.[34][35] Following the incident, Stardom's top title, theWorld of Stardom Championship, was declared vacant with a tournament scheduled to determine the new champion. On March 29, Hojo defeated first Kyoko Kimura and thenIo Shirai to win the World of Stardom Championship for the first time.[36][37] After a four-month reign, she lost the title toMeiko Satomura on July 26.[38][39] Hojo bounced back by winning Stardom's top singles tournament, the 5★Star GP, by defeating Hudson Envy in the finals on September 23.[40] At the end of the year, Hojo was named Stardom's MVP of 2015.[41] In January 2016, Hojo came together with former rivals Io Shirai andMayu Iwatani to form a new stable.[42] On February 28, 2016, the three, now billed collectively as "Threedom" (a combination of the words "Three" and "Stardom"), defeatedEvie,Hiroyo Matsumoto andKellie Skater to win the Artist of Stardom Championship.[43] In April, Hojo, along with Iwatani and Shirai, traveled to the United States to take part in events held byLucha Underground and Vendetta Pro Wrestling.[44] On May 15, Hojo won another title, when she defeatedSantana Garrett for the Wonder of Stardom Championship, winning the title in her fourth attempt.[45] On August 8, Hojo debuted for theInoki Genome Federation (IGF), defeating Jungle Kyona at an event inShanghai.[18] On September 3, Hojo defeated Io Shirai to take over the leadership of the Red Stars block in the 2016 5★Star GP. However, during the match, she suffered a concussion, which forced her to pull out of her remaining tournament.[46][47][48] On October 2, Threedom lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to Hana Kimura, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura in their third defense.[49][50]
On November 11, Hojo andYoko Bito defeated Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani in the finals to win the2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. Following the match, Shirai turned on Iwatani and disbanded Threedom.[51][52] On December 22, Hojo and Bito defeated Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura to become the new Goddesses of Stardom Champions.[53][54] They lost the title to Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona in their second defense on March 5, 2017.[55][56] Also in March, it was reported that Hojo had told Stardom's office that she was leaving the promotion forWWE the following month.[57] On March 20, Hojo unsuccessfully challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship.[58][59] On May 6, Hojo, Hiromi Mimura and Konami defeated AZM, HZK and Io Shirai to win the Artist of Stardom Championship.[60] Following the match, Hojo confirmed her impending departure from Stardom, without specifically mentioning WWE.[61][62] Sane had contemplated retirement due to her age and injuries, but decided to go wrestle overseas after consultingBull Nakano.[63] The following day, Threedom reunited for one final match together, defeating Hiromi Mimura, HZK and Jungle Kyona in a six-woman tag team match.[64][65] Hojo's one-year reign as the Wonder of Stardom Champion ended on May 14, when she lost the title to Mayu Iwatani in her ninth title defense, falling one defense short of tying Santana Garrett's record for most defenses.[66][67] Hojo wrestled her final matches for Stardom on June 4. After Hojo, Mimura and Konami lost the Artist of Stardom Championship back to AZM, HZK and Shirai in their second defense, Hojo wrestled an unadvertised ten-match one-minute time limit series against members of the Stardom roster that ended in three wins, six draws and one loss.[68][69]
WWE (2016–2021)
Signing and Mae Young Classic (2016–2017)
In October 2016, Housako was contacted and offered a WWE contract, starting the following year. Reportedly, Housako had stated that she was interested in going to WWE, but had not made a final decision yet. There were also questions over whether she could pass the company's physical examination due to her two concussions during the past two years.[70] In March 2017, Housako signed a three-year contract with WWE,[57] reportedly for $60,000 per year, which was less than she was making in Japan.[71]
On June 30, a video at a WWEhouse show in Tokyo, introduced Housako as "Kairi Sane" to WWE'sdevelopmental brand,NXT, as well as the upcomingMae Young Classic tournament.[72][73] On July 13, she defeatedTessa Blanchard in the tournament's first round in her WWE debut match.[74] The following day, Sane first defeatedBianca Belair in the second round, thenDakota Kai in quarterfinals and finallyToni Storm in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament.[75] Reportedly, Sane suffered both a concussion and a neck injury during the tapings.[76] On September 12, Sane defeatedShayna Baszler in the tournament finals and thereby earned a shot at the vacantNXT Women's Championship at the nextNXT TakeOver show.[77][78]
In July, after she defeatedCandice LeRae andNikki Cross in a triple–threat match to become the number one contender,[84] Sane reignited her rivalry withShayna Baszler, as the two exchanged victories in theMae Young Classic Finals and atNXT[85] and faced off in a match atTakeOver: Brooklyn 4 on August 18 where Sane was able to defeat Bazsler to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time in her career.[86][87][88][89][90] On October 28, at theWWE Evolution pay–per–view, Sane lost the championship back to Baszler (after interference from her alliesJessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir) ending her reign at 71 days.[91][92][93] Three weeks later, atTakeOver: WarGames, Sane received her rematch against Baszler in atwo out of three falls match, but she failed to regain the title after interference from Duke and Shafir again.[94] Because of the interferences, Sane eventually aligned with her best friendIo Shirai andDakota Kai against Baszler, Duke and Shafir.[95][96][97][98] Shortly after, Kai was sidelined with an injury and Sane continued to team with Shirai, forming a tag team known as "The Sky Pirates" while continuing to defeat various teams.[99][100][101][102]
On April 5, 2019, atTakeOver: New York, Sane competed in a fatal–four-way match for the NXT Women's Championship, however, she was unsuccessful in capturing the title as Baszler submitted Bianca Belair to retain.[103] Just six days later, on April 11 (episode aired ontape delay on April 17), Sane lost a rematch to Baszler after Io Shirai attacked Baszler who was looking to injure Sane. Because of her loss, Sane is not allowed to challenge for the NXT Women's Championship anymore, which was a way to write her off the brand.[104][105]
The Kabuki Warriors and WWE Ambassador (2019–2021)
On the April 16, 2019, episode ofSmackDown Live,Paige announced that she would bemanaging a newly formed women's tag team, consisting of Sane, who as a result wasdrafted to the main roster, andAsuka.[106][107] The team of Sane and Asuka, later dubbed "The Kabuki Warriors".[108][109][110] At theHell in a Cell, the Kabuki Warriors won theWomen's Tag Team Championship fromAlexa Bliss andNikki Cross, after Asuka used thegreen mist on Cross.[111] The next night onRaw, the Kabuki Warriors completed their transition intoheels, as they cut a promo on bothBecky Lynch andCharlotte Flair and went onto defeat them in a non-title match after once again using green mist.[112] As part of the2019 Draft in mid-October, Asuka and Sane were both drafted to theRaw brand. On the October 28, 2019, episode ofRaw, the Kabuki Warriors turned on Paige and used the green mist on her.[113] Asuka and Sane made their returns to NXT on the October 30 episode to defend the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Team Kick (Dakota Kai andTegan Nox); marking the first time the titles were defended on NXT where they retained.[citation needed]
Sane represented Team Raw at Survivor Series in a 5-on-5-on-5 elimination tag team match, being eliminated bySasha Banks.[citation needed] AtStarrcade, the Kabuki Warriors successfully retained the tag team titles against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross andBayley and Sasha Banks when Asuka submitted Cross.[citation needed] Sane and Asuka then challenged Lynch and Flair to a WWE Women's Tag Team title match atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, which they accepted. At the event, the Kabuki Warriors retained their titles against Lynch and Flair in aTables, Ladders and Chairs match; during the match, Sane suffered a legitmate concussion, which caused the remainder of the match to be changed on the fly.[citation needed] Sane made her TV return on the January 20 episode ofRaw.[citation needed] On the March 2 episode ofRaw, she returned to the ring in a losing effort against Shayna Baszler. On the first night ofWrestleMania 36, the Kabuki Warriors lost their Women's Tag Team Championships to the team of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, ending their reign at 181 days, the longest reign for the titles so far.[114]
On the May 11, 2020, episode ofRaw, then-Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch vacated her title in order to take maternity leave, revealing that Asuka won the championship the night before by winning theMoney in the Bank ladder match at theeponymous event. On the next episode ofRaw, after Lynch's announcement, Sane was seen backstage with some of the other wrestlers congratulating Lynch, thus turning the Kabuki Warriors face as Sane celebrated Asuka's championship victory before being interrupted byNia Jax, thus beginning a feud. On the June 6 episode ofRaw, which was taped on May and aired ontape delay, Sane suffered a significant head cut.[115] Sane made her televised return since her injury on the July 6 episode ofRaw, as she challenged Sasha Banks in a match that ended in adisqualification due to Bayley's interference.[116] Weeks after, the Kabuki Warriors unsuccessfully challenged Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[117] On the July 20 episode ofRaw, she defeatedSmackDown Women's Champion Bayley in a non-title match.[118] The following week on Raw, Sane was viciously assaulted by Bayley backstage during the Raw Women's Championship match between Asuka and Banks. This was done to write her out of the storylines as Sane announced her departure from WWE on Twitter as she was heading back to Japan to be with her husband.[119][120][13] WWE later confirmed Sane's departure on their website.[121] On July 29, 2020, WWE's YouTube channel released a video chronicling Sane's last week in WWE.[122][123]
On October 2, 2020, Sane announced that she had started working as an ambassador and trainer for WWE's branch in her native Japan.[124] On October 25, she was part of the Japanese-languagecommentary team for theHell in a Cell pay-per-view.[125] In December 2021, she left WWE after her contract expired.[126]
In November 2022, Kairi defeated Mayu Iwatani in the main event ofHistoric X-Over, a professional wrestling event co-promoted by Stardom and its sister promotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), to become the inauguralIWGP Women's Champion.[134] In 2023, Kairi defended her title againstTam Nakano atWrestle Kingdom 17. After the match, she was confronted and attacked byMercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks).[135] Moné then challenged Kairi to a title match atBattle in the Valley.[136] At the event, Kairi was defeated by Moné; ending her reign at 90 days.[137]
On March 24, 2023, Housako confirmed she became a free agent.[138] On August 5, it was reported she has come to terms with WWE and would return to the company.[139] On November 2, it was reported that she had been added to WWE's internal roster.[140] She made her return atCrown Jewel reverting back to her WWE ring name Kairi Sane, and assistedIyo Sky in retaining theWWE Women's Championship againstBianca Belair,[141] re-establishing herself as a heel.[142] On the following episode ofSmackDown, Sane confrontedBayley and forgave her for her actions in 2020 and joinedDamage CTRL. On the same episode, during a six-woman tag team match pittingAsuka with Belair andCharlotte Flair against Damage CTRL (Bayley, Sky and Sane), Asuka turned on her teammates to reunite with Sane while joining Damage CTRL at the same time (subsequently reforming the Kabuki Warriors).[143] AtSurvivor Series WarGames, Damage CTRL lost to Belair, Flair,Becky Lynch, andShotzi in aWarGames match.[144]
In January 2025, it was reported that Sane suffered an arm injury.[155] During her hiatus, Damage CTRL quietly disbanded after the release of Dakota Kai.[156]
Kabuki Warriors reunion (2025–present)
On the May 19 episode ofRaw, Sane made her return, where she failed to qualify for theMoney in the Bank ladder match.[157] On the following episode ofRaw, Sane defeatedLiv Morgan, marking her first televised singles victory in WWE since July 2020.[158] On the July 7 episode ofRaw, the Kabuki Warriors reunited after Asuka came to the aid of Sane from an attack by WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionsRaquel Rodriguez andRoxanne Perez.[159] AtEvolution, the Kabuki Warriors competed in a fatal four-way tag team match for the tag titles but they did not win.[160] On the September 22 episode ofRaw, after weeks of tension between Asuka, Iyo Sky andRhea Ripley, both Sane and Asuka attacked Ripley and Sky, thus turning heel.[161] AtCrown Jewel on October 11, Sane and Asuka faced Sky and Ripley in a losing effort.[162] On the November 10 episode ofRaw, Sane and Asuka defeatedAlexa Bliss andCharlotte Flair to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship for the third time.[163]
Housako married on February 22, 2020.[169] In January 2022, Housako opened a 24-hour gym called "PARA-FIT24" insideShōnan-Enoshima Station in Kanagawa, Japan.[170]
Filmography
Film
2012:Sūpu～Umarekawari no Monogatari～ (スープ～生まれ変わりの物語～)[9]
^abJohnson, Mike (February 18, 2022)."Kairi Sane Returns to..."PWInsider.com.Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2022.Going forward she will be going as simply KAIRI in all capitals.
^里村明衣子が赤いベルトを奪取！.Daily Sports Online (in Japanese).Kobe Shimbun. July 26, 2015.Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. RetrievedJune 3, 2016.
^宝城カイリが5★Star GP優勝.Daily Sports Online (in Japanese).Kobe Shimbun. September 23, 2015.Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. RetrievedJune 3, 2016.
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