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What's the story?
Inaugural Mae Young Classic winner and NXT's top female superstar, Kairi Sane, recently decided to make a special appearance for her former promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom.
In case you didn't know…
Kairi Sane (previously known as Kairi Hojo) first started her wrestling career in 2011 as part of top Joshi Puroresu promotion, Stardom. Sane, who first started training under the Stardom banner, made her in-ring debut the following year in a losing effort to Yuzuki Aikawa.
Kairi spent a total of six years in Japan as part of the Stardom promotion, where she won numerous championships including the Artist of Stardom Championship, Goddess of Stardom Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship and much more.
The 29-year-old departed from Stardom earlier in the year and her final performance saw her wrestle in an unadvertised ten-match one-minute time limit encounter against the members of the Stardom roster.
The heart of the matter
Kairi Sane recently decided to make a special appearance at her former wrestling promotion Stardom where she showed up to say goodbye to her best friend Yoko Bito, who wrestled her final Pro Wrestling match as she decided to retire from the sport for the second time in her career.
At her final wrestling match, Bito teamed up with Takumi Iroha as the duo faced off against the team of Meiko Satomura and Toni Storm - who also performed during the Mae Young classic alongside Sane.
Storm and Satomura got the victory, as the current World of Stardom Champion pinned Bito after hitting her with three Strong Zeroes.
However, Bito was then greeted by her close friend Kairi Sane, who came and received a solid pop from the Stardom crowd and a bouquet of flowers in her hand.
What's next?
Yoko Bito's retirement will definitely go down as one of 2017's saddest moments and the former Wonder of Stardom Champion will undoubtedly be missed.
As for Kairi Sane, she will now look to turn her attention towards the NXT Women’s Title and will look forward to capturing the title from Ember Moon.
Author's take
Watching Sane back in Stardom was a very nostalgic moment for all Joshi fans, including me personally. The fact that WWE allowed her to appear remains a shock to me, but equally a welcome surprise for an unforgettable moment.
