WWE Rumors: Two Superstars Reportedly Might Be Leaving Company And Accepting Rival’s Offer To Return

If the latest rumors are to be believed, two of WWE‘s up-and-coming female superstars may be headed elsewhere at some point in the future, assuming they choose to sign the big-money offer that one of their home country’s top promotions reportedly plans to make.

Citing comments made by Dave Meltzer on Saturday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, WrestlingNews.co wrote that Raw’s Kairi Sane and NXT’s Io Shirai are being offered a “lot of money” by Japanese promotion Bushiroad, due to their need for more star power and the two wrestlers’ past history with the company.

The new update comes a few months after it was reported that Bushiroad director Takaaki Kidani told a Japanese publication that he was planning to make a lucrative deal to both women. Per WhatCulture, Sane and Shirai joined WWE in 2016 directly from World Wonder Ring Stardom, a company that was purchased in October 2019 by Bushiroad subsidiary Kix Road.

As further noted by WrestlingNews.co, Meltzer also pointed out another reason why Shirai doesn’t appear to be happy with her current situation away from home — the fact that she is engaged to New Japan Pro-Wrestling standout Evil and working thousands of miles away from him. However, the veteran wrestling journalist added that WWE is working on ways to convince the NXT mainstay to remain with the company, which may include moving her to either one of the two main roster brands sooner rather than later.

“Io may be moved to the main roster real quick to keep [her from leaving] because then her pay goes way up because her pay in NXT is nothing special. I heard she was making more money [with Stardom].”

As for Sane, The Inquisitr reported in November that the Raw star, who is one-half of the reigning Women’s Tag Team Champions, The Kabuki Warriors, is supposedly considering the possibility of moving to another promotion once her contract expires later this year. This is in contrast to her tag teammate and countrywoman, Asuka, who reportedly appears “very happy” wrestling in the United States.

While Shirai remains a key part of NXT’s female roster, with no other recent reports hinting at a potential move to Raw or SmackDown, Sane has missed the past few weeks of action due to a concussion she suffered at last month’s TLC pay-per-view. She is, however, expected to return to the ring in time for the Royal Rumble later this month, per Sportskeeda.