Kaori Housako, professionally known as Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress who is currently signed to WWE, where she serves as an ambassador and trainer in Japan. She first started wrestling professionally in January of 2012 for the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion where for the next five years, she became a one-time World of Stardom Champion. She then signed to the WWE in 2016. Sane debuted on WWE’s main roster in 2019, where she became a one-time and the longest-reigning WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. In WWE, she won the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament and even bagged the NXT Women’s Championship once. The team of Saine and Asuka named “The Kabuki Warriors” won the Women’s Tag Team Championship from Bliss and Cross. Moreover, she made her name in the Stardom promotion, cementing herself as one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world, winning an array of championships and accolades during her time in the promotion.
Famous For
- Being a Japanese professional wrestler and actress.
- For serving as an ambassador and trainer in Japan.
Source: @essentiallysports
Where is Kairi Sane from?
Kairi Sane opened her eyes for the very first time on 23rd September 1988 in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She took birth with the real name of Kaori Housako in the Christian religious family. She is of Japanese nationality and she belongs to Asian ethnic background. Kairi’s present age is 32 which she celebrated back in 2020 and as per her birth date, her zodiac sign is Libra. Thus, her race is white. Her parent’s details have not been disclosed yet however we know that she has a sister, who is three years older than her.
Regarding Kairi’s education, she graduated from Hosei University with a bachelor’s degree in Japanese literature.
What does Kairi Sane do for a living?
World Wonder Ring Stardom (2011-2017)
- Kairi Sane commenced her wrestling career by getting training with Stardom in 2011 after which she made her debut under the ring name “Kairi Hojo” for Stardom on 7th January 2012, losing to Yuzuki Aikawa but she quickly became a founding member of the Zenryoku Joshi stable, led by Aikawa.
- She won her first title on 29th April 2013, at Ryogoku Cinderella and teamed with Kaori Yoneyama and Yuhi on 23rd June 2013 to defeat Christina Von Eerie, Hailey Hatred, and Kyoko Kimura for the vacant Artist of Stardom Championship. They lost the title to Kimura, Alpha Female, and The Female Predator “Amazon” on 4th November.
- Hojo made her Mexican debut by representing Stardom in the “DragonMania 9” and “Lucha Fan Fest 8” events in May 2014.
- She regained the Goddess of Stardom Championship on 10th August, when she and Takahashi defeated Alpha Female and Kyoko Kimura.
- She also defeated the first Kyoko Kimura on 29th March and then Io Shirai to win the World of Stardom Championship for the first time but she lost the title to Meiko Satomura on 26th July after a four-month reign.
- She bounced back by winning Stardom’s top singles tournament, the 5 Star GP, by defeating Hudson Envy in the finals on 23rd September. At the end of the year, she was named Stardom’s MVP of 2015.
- She won another title on 15th May, when she defeated Santana Garrett for the Wonder of Stardom Championship, winning the title in her fourth attempt.
- Then she debuted for the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) on 8th August, defeating Jungle Kyona at an event in Shanghai.
- As well, she defeated Io Shirai on 3rd September to take over the leadership of the Red Stars block in the 2016 5 Star GP. But, during the match, she suffered a concussion, which forced her to pull out of her remaining tournament.
- Hojo and Yoko Bito defeated Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani in the finals to win the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League on 11th November as well as they defeated Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura to become the new Goddess of Stardom Champions o 22nd December. However, on 5th March 2017, they lost the title to Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona in their second defense.
- It was reported in March that Hojo had told Stardom’s office that she was leaving the promotion for WWE the following month. She unsuccessfully challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship on 20th March. Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami defeated AZM, HZK, and Io Shirai to win the Artist of Stardom Championship on 6th May. Following the match, Hojo confirmed her impending departure from Stardom, without specifically mentioning WWE.
- Hojo’s one-year reign as the Wonder of Stardom Champion ended on 14th May, when she lost the title to Mayu Iwatani in her ninth title defense.
- Later on 4th June, she wrestled her final matches for Stardom as well as she 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 after Hojo, Mimura, and Konami lost the Artist of Stardom Championship back to AZM, HZK, and Shirai in their second defense.
WWE (2016-2017)
- Kairi was contacted and offered a WWE contract, starting the following year in October 2016 whereas she signed a three-year contract with WWE in March 2017, reportedly for $60,000 per year, which was less than she was making in Japan.
- She defeated Tessa Blanchard in the tournament’s first round in her WWE debut match on 13th July and also in the following day, she first defeated Bianca Belair in the second round, then Dakota Kai in the quarterfinals, and finally Toni Storm in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament.
- She defeated Shayna Baszler in the tournament finals on 12th September and thereby earned a shot at the vacant NXT Women’s Championship at the next NXT TakeOver show.
NXT Women’s Champion (2017-2019)
- Sane made her television debut on NXT, defeating Aliyah in October 2017 and she also competed in a fatal four-way match for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship in November, at NXT TakeOver: WarGames but was unsuccessful as Ember Moon won the match.
- She then participated in the first women’s Royal Rumble match on 28th January 2018, at the Royal Rumble as well as she participated in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.
- In July, she reignited her rivalry with Shayna Baszler, as the two exchanged victories in the Mae Young Classic Finals and at NXT and faced off in a match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV on 18th August where Sane was able to defeat Bazsler to win the NXT Women’s Championship for the first time in her career.
- She lost the championship back to Baszler ending her reign at 71 days on 28th October at the WWE Evolution pay-per-view however she received her rematch against Baszler in a two out of three falls match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, but she failed to regain the title after interference from Duke and Shafir again.
- Sane competed in a fatal four-way match for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT TakeOver: New York on 5th April 2019, but, she was unsuccessful in capturing the title as Baszler submitted Bianca Belair to retain.
- Again after six days on 11th April, she lost a rematch to Baszler after Io Shirai attacked Baszler who was looking to injure Sane and because of her loss, she is not allowed to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship anymore, which was a way to write her off the brand.
The Kabuki Warriors (2019-2020)
- Paige announced on the 16th April 2019 episode of “SmackDown Live” that she would be managing a newly formed women’s tag team, consisting of Sane, who as a result was drafted to the main roster, and Asuka.
- The team of Sane and Asuka, later dubbed “The Kabuki Warriors” was immediately put in a feud with The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) over the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
- The Kabuki Warriors earned a title match after they defeated The IIconics during WWE’s tour in Tokyo whereas the title match took place on the 16th July episode of SmackDown, where The IIconics retained after they got themselves counted out.
- The Kabuki Warriors finally won the Women’s Tag Team Championship from Bliss and Cross, after Asuka used the green mist on Cross on 6th October at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
- As part of the 2019 Draft in mid-October, Asuka and Kairi were both drafted to the Raw brand. They made their returns to NXT on the 30th October episode to defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Team Kick making it the first time the titles were defended on NXT where they retained.
- Kairi represented Team Raw at Survivor Series in a 5-on-5-on-5 elimination tag team match, being eliminated by Sasha Banks.
- The Kabuki Warriors successfully retained the tag team titles against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair on 1st December at Starrcade, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross and Bayley and Sasha Banks when Asuka submitted Cross.
- Kairi and Asuka subsequently challenged Lynch and Flair to a WWE Women’s Tag Team title match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, which they accepted. At the event, The Kabuki Warriors retained their titles against Lynch and Flair in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
- Later Sane made her TV return on the 20th January episode of “Raw”, losing to Lynch by submission after which she returned to the ring in a losing effort against Shayna Baszler on the 2nd March episode of “Raw”.
- The Kabuki Warriors lost their Women’s Tag Team Championships to the team of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross on the first night of Wrestlemania 36, ending their reign at 181 days, the longest reign for the titles so far.
- On the 11th May 2020, episode of “Raw”, then-Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vacated her title in order to take maternity leave whereas she suffered a significant head cut on the 6th June episode of “Raw”, which was taped on May and aired on tape delay.
- Then on the 6th July episode of “Raw”, Sane made her televised return since her injury as she challenged Sasha Banks in a match that ended in a disqualification due to Bayley’s interference. Weeks after, The Kabuki Warriors also unsuccessfully challenged Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
- Kairi defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title match on the 20th July episode of “Raw” as well as in the following week on Raw, she 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. WWE later confirmed Sane’s departure on their website.
- WWE’s YouTube channel released a video chronicling Sane’s last week in WWE on 29th July 2020 as the video features Sane saying her goodbyes to everyone in WWE as she prepares to go back to Japan with superstars such as Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Akira Tozawa all wishing her well.
- Furthermore, Kairi announced on 2nd October 2020 that she had started working as an ambassador and trainer for WWE’s branch in her native Japan. On 15th October she was part of the Japanese-language commentary team for the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
Acting Career
- Kairi Sane can also be seen in several films and TV series such as “Supu – Umarekawari no Monogatarias” (2012), “Zenigata Kintaro” (2011), “Waratte Iitomo!” (2012), “Sekai Fushigi Hakken” (2013), “Nakai Masahiro no Mininaru” Toshokan” (2014), “Naruhodo! Haisukuru” (2015).
- Apart from that, she made her video game debut as a playable character in “WWE 2K19”. She is also a playable character in “WWE 2K20”.
Awards and Achievements
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 10 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Women’s 100 in 2017 and 2018
- Ranked No. 9 of the top 50 tag teams in the PWI Tag Team 50 in 2020 with Asuka
Sports Illustrated
- Ranked No. 8 in the top 10 female wrestlers in 2018 – tied with Shayna Baszler
World Wonder Ring Stardom
- Artist of Stardom Championship (4 times) – with Kaori Yoneyama and Yuhi (1), Chelsea and Koguma (1), Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani (1), and Hiromi Mimura and Konami (1)
- Goddess of Stardom Championship (3 times) – with Natsumi Showzuki (1), Nanae Takahashi (1), and Yoko Bito (1)
- Wonder of Stardom Championship (1 time)
- World of Stardom Championship (1 time)
- World of Stardom Championship tournament (2015)
- 5 Star GP (2015)
- Goddesses of Stardom Tag League (2016) – with Yoko Bito
- 5 Star GP Award (1 time)
- 5 Star GP Best Match Award (2014) vs. Nanae Takahashi
- Stardom Year-End Award (6 times)
- Best Match Award (2014) with Nanae Takahashi vs. Risa Sera and Takumi Iroha
- Best Tag Team Award (2014) with Nanae Takahashi
- Best Tag Team Award (2016) with Yoko Bito
- MVP Award (2015)
- Outstanding Performance Award (2013)
- Technique Award (2016)
WWE
- NXT Women’s Championship (1 time)
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Asuka
- Mae Young Classic (2017)
- NXT Year-End Award (2 times)
- Female Competitor of the Year (2018)
- Overall Competitor of the Year (2018)
- WWE Year-End Award (1 time)
- Women’s Tag Team of the Year (2019) – with Asuka
Source: @youtube
Who is Kairi Sane married to?
Kairi Sane is a married woman. She is living a happy life with her husband however the name of her husband hasn’t been revealed it’s official that they are married. When asked about her private life, Sane revealed that she got married to her husband whom she was in a long-distance relationship for a long time. The pair is not blessed with any child yet but they are living together happily. Concerning Sane’s sexual orientation, she is straight.
What is the Net Worth of Kairi Sane?
Kairi Sane is a versatile wrestler who has a net worth of $10 million as of 2021. She also earns a handsome amount of salary which is around $250,000 per year. She is currently serving as WWE ambassador and a trainer in her own country through which she is having a good earning which keeps adding to her net worth. In addition, her major source of income is from her wrestling and acting career.
How tall is Kairi Sane?
Kairi Sane is 5 ft 1 in or 155 cm tall and her body weighs around 52 kg or 114.5 lbs. Her delicate facial proportions and her perfect goddess-like figure make her an object of desire among men. Kairi has good-looking dark brown hair and eyes color. Additionally, her body build type is athletic.
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