On Friday night’s SmackDown broadcast, WWE announced a Champion vs. Champion match featuring Asuka vs. Bayley for Monday’s RAW broadcast. In the graphic WWE originally tweeted out, Kairi Sane was shown standing behind Asuka while Sasha Banks was shown standing behind Bayley. In an update on that, WWE has since removed Sane from the advertising. That is an indication that she didn’t work the most recent RAW TV taping.
PWMania.com previously reported, Sane is said to have a “complicated” status with WWE right now. There were plans for her to return to Japan as an ambassador before the pandemic hit. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Sane will indeed be returning to Japan to be with her husband and WWE has known about this since at least May.
Sane has been cleared to return to WWE TV and was scheduled for the July 3rd tapings (airing on July 6th and/or 13th). She had been out of action after Nia Jax threw her into the ring steps during a match on May 26th. WWE wound up stopping the match and then heavily edited it before it aired.
Prior to the injury, WWE’s original plan had been to write Sane off TV with what they would have called a “career-ending” injury. It should be noted that Jax was not set to be the person who took her out. It likely would have been Charlotte Flair or Shayna Baszler. As far as Baszler is concerned, she has been off WWE TV as Vince McMahon has “soured” on her. Charlotte Flair will be out for several months with an “elective” surgery.
Once Sane returns to Japan, the belief is that she’ll wrestle another year and then retire.
Champion vs. Champion. THIS MONDAY on #WWERaw!@WWEAsuka @itsBayleyWWE pic.twitter.com/r1hYcaxQkT
— WWE (@WWE) July 4, 2020
It will be CHAMPION vs. CHAMPION when #WWERAW #WomensChampion @WWEAsuka goes one-on-one with #SmackDown #WomensChampion @itsBayleyWWE (w/ @SashaBanksWWE) this Monday! pic.twitter.com/mDRfGA4x42
— WWE (@WWE) July 4, 2020
