Kairi Sane Removed From Advertising For Monday's WWE Raw
Was supposed to be in Asuka's corner...
A promotional graphic for this Monday's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw depicted Kairi Sane as being in the corner of her tag team partner, Asuka, for Asuka's match against Bayley (who was shadowed by partner Sasha Banks, as her implied cornerperson in the same graphic).
However, an updated graphic released by WWE on Twitter has Sane removed from the picture, leaving just Asuka, Bayley, and Banks.
Reports over the last several days have Sane's status with the company in question. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Sane was cleared from injury, and was scheduled to appear at the Raw tapings on Friday.
In the same report, Meltzer said that Sane's in-ring career is winding down, and she plans on returning to Japan to be with her husband. The company had apparently planned a career-ending injury angle in the run-up to SummerSlam to write Sane out.
Fightful had called Sane's present status with WWE "pretty complicated". The company was hoping to transition her into an ambassador's role in Japan, but were also hoping that Sane would choose to continue wrestling.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.
