IYO SKY has broken her silence on Kairi Sane’s WWE departure with one of the most personal tributes posted by any current WWE Superstar this weekend.
Sane was among the many talents released by WWE on April 24 in the company’s annual post-WrestleMania roster trim. The cuts also included Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, the Motor City Machine Guns, and the entire Wyatt Sicks faction.
Sky, who was working a heated on-screen rivalry with Sane and Asuka heading into WrestleMania 42, posted a lengthy message to X on Saturday that pulled the curtain back on their real-life friendship.
“My Proud Best Friend”
Writing in Japanese and translating the message herself, Sky reflected on the years she and Sane spent navigating life in America together as foreign performers.
“I understand that everyone, as an athlete, eventually faces a turning point when thinking about their life and career, but I feel so heartbroken that it came at such an unexpected time,” Sky wrote. “Kairi was truly loved by all her colleagues, not just as a performer but as a person.”
Sky described Sane as “a comrade-in-arms who faced countless hardships in America, shed so many tears, and grew together with me,” before landing on the detail that hit hardest with fans: “It’s so hard to accept that Kairi won’t be in the passenger seat of the rental car anymore.”
She closed the post by expressing confidence in Sane’s next chapter, telling her best friend, “We’ll be best friends forever and always.”
Kairi Sane Already Looking Ahead
The tribute followed Sane’s own farewell statement earlier in the day. As SEScoops reported, Sane wrote that she would “set sail in my own time,” nodding to her Pirate Princess persona and signaling she has no plans to step away from wrestling entirely.
Sane returned to WWE at Crown Jewel in November 2023 after a stint back in Stardom. During her two runs with the company, she won the 2017 Mae Young Classic, captured the NXT Women’s Championship, and held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship three times alongside Asuka as the Kabuki Warriors.
Her final WWE match took place on the April 20 episode of Raw, when she and Asuka lost to Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY in a tag team bout.