What’s the story?
According to Ewrestlingnews.com, Kairi Hojo has reported to the WWE Performance Center and is expected to compete at the upcoming Mae Young Classic tournament on July 14th.
In case you didn’t know...
Kairi Hojo was rumoured since October 2016 to be signing with WWE. Hojo and her fellow-Stardom superstar Io Shirai had taken time to make their decision, and it seemed like at the end of the year they were not going to sign. However, around March 2017, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter had reported that Hojo signed a 3-year deal with WWE.
She finished her commitments with Stardom and arrived in the United States earlier this week. She was spotted at an NXT Live Event as well.
The heart of the matter
EWN stated that The Pirate Princess Kairi Hojo is expected to compete at the Mae Young Classic, but before doing so will be training at the WWE Performance Center.
If Hojo does, in fact, compete at the Mae Young Classic, then she will undoubtedly go down as the favourite to win the tournament. Unlike the situation WWE had with Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. at last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, Hojo is signed to a contract, so WWE likely won’t hesitate and make one of the best female wrestlers in the world win the entire tournament.
There is still no word yet as to when Io Shirai will be arriving in the United States and when her schedule will be starting. She recently lost the World Of Stardom Championship to Mayu Iwatani and announced that she would be taking a “long-term absence” from Stardom due to “Exhaustion”. This was in Kayfabe to write her off the storyline. We’ll definitely see her next somewhere down the line with NXT.
What’s next?
Kairi Hojo will continue training at the Performance Center and start adapting herself to the WWE style and promos and get geared up for her eventual debut.
Author’s Take
Kairi Hojo is an incredible addition, and the fact that she’s finally training at the Performance Center is very exciting. Her eventual debut is going to be met with a great reception and she has the look and the talent to become an extremely successful WWE superstar. Her ”Pirate Princess” gimmick seems like something tailor made for the WWE.
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