KAIRI on her time in WWE
Jun 7, 2022 12:29:05 GMT -5
Magic knows Black Lives Matter and schma like this
Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2022 12:29:05 GMT -5
Why she left STARDOM for WWE in 2017
Tthe biggest thing was my desire to learn more about wrestling in America. I decided to go to WWE because I wanted to experience the top level and grow. However, at the time I was the president of the wrestlers in STARDOM, and I was also the Wonder of Stardom champion. At that time, Stardom was facing a crisis of survival due to a sudden decrease in the number of wrestlers. The remaining members managed to rebuild the promotion, and the younger members grew up to be reliable. I decided to leave when I thought I was ready to pass the baton to the next generation. When the number of wrestlers became smaller, I had more opportunities to wrestle against foreign wrestlers and I often traveled to the United States and Europe with Mayu (Iwatani) and Io (Shirai). When I saw how excited the audience was there, it made me want to compete overseas.
I also had a fundamental sense of urgency that I could not just maintain the status quo. Mayu and Io are dexterous and good at ukemi and jumping. What do I have in comparison? Which skills do I need to improve to be at a higher level? I had been wondering for a long time. That is why I decided to take the plunge and train myself from the ground up by jumping into a world with a different environment.
The struggles of being a foreigner in WWE
Over there, there is a class called "promo class" where we practice promos. The organization places great importance on character and storytelling, so being a good promo is a key point. When I first came to the U.S., I was given an assignment and practiced many times at home before the promo class, but during the performance I couldn't speak well in English and I was very sloppy. The coach was sighing and the classroom was quiet. I would drive to a big lake and sit there and cry in frustration. (Laughter). Also, when it comes to promos, you are required to do things that are not done in Japan. For example, for the time adjustment of a live broadcast, I was suddenly handed a microphone and asked to speak for one minute. I was often asked to speak for one minute. The tension was extraordinary, and many times I felt that my life was shortening.
Language barrier and other difficulties
All communication with producers, photographers, and coaches was in English, and at first I had a really hard time understanding the fast English spoken by native speakers. Communication is essential for building relationships among wrestlers, so I made sure to study English conversation every day. The English conversation classes that WWE offered twice a week were a real plus for me.
The most frightening thing about WWE is that once you miss a chance, they don't use you anymore. WWE is a mixed organization, but only one or two women's matches are scheduled per show, so basically only two to four wrestlers are allowed to compete. Everyone is vying for that narrow slot. Like myself, there were many wrestlers who were frustrated and depressed because their chances did not come around. They would say, "Oh, no matches are scheduled today either." I had never experienced the pain of not being assigned to a match in Japan, so it was painful.
That time she witnessed two women getting released before practice
It is a world where everyone's contract could be cut at any time. Before morning practice in the ring, when we were stretching with the girls, two of them were tapped on the shoulder by the coach. I was like, "Huh? Where are they going?", and then those two guys were taking their stuff out of the locker room. Then, without warning, I heard them crying and saying, "Thank you for everything". When I asked them about it, they told me that their contract was terminated that day. Because it is such a severe environment, it may be natural that there is a sense of tension during the matches.
Confusing advice from her coaches
I was also very confused left and right. Because WWE is a huge organization with top-level wrestlers from all over the world, there are dozens of coaches alone, and the advice they give is different. One coach said, "Smiling makes you look weak, so keep a straight face." I thought, "I see," and adopted that advice at first, but the audience did not respond well (wry smile). I was told all kinds of things, and when I adopted all of them, I started to lose sight of who I was. The fact that my hair was pink for a while was also a result of my character confusion.
Why she left WWE
When I left Japan in 2017, I promised my fans that I would go on a long journey, but that I would come back grown up. I told that to President Rossy Ogawa (now Executive Producer). In the first place, my goal was to learn first-class professional wrestling, and I didn't really intend to live permanently in the US.
I thought about retiring from wrestling. This is a personal story, but I lost my best friend to illness. I made a vow at her graveside and promised to make it happen: I was going to participate in WrestleMania. I wanted to make it happen for sure. Thanks to that, I was able to compete in three WrestleManias, had a title match with Asuka as Kabuki Warriors, became a champion in both NXT and WWE, and even received an award for the NXT overall competitor of the year.
After I moved to the U.S., my personal life was secondary to my professional life, and I was flying around and competing four times a week without a break, but then the pandemic hit, and I suddenly had time to myself. Then I took the time to do some introspection. I thought, "Where am I going to go from here? I had a sense of accomplishment that I had fulfilled my promise to my best friend and that I had done everything I could in my three years with WWE, and after several consultations with WWE, I decided to leave.
Tthe biggest thing was my desire to learn more about wrestling in America. I decided to go to WWE because I wanted to experience the top level and grow. However, at the time I was the president of the wrestlers in STARDOM, and I was also the Wonder of Stardom champion. At that time, Stardom was facing a crisis of survival due to a sudden decrease in the number of wrestlers. The remaining members managed to rebuild the promotion, and the younger members grew up to be reliable. I decided to leave when I thought I was ready to pass the baton to the next generation. When the number of wrestlers became smaller, I had more opportunities to wrestle against foreign wrestlers and I often traveled to the United States and Europe with Mayu (Iwatani) and Io (Shirai). When I saw how excited the audience was there, it made me want to compete overseas.
I also had a fundamental sense of urgency that I could not just maintain the status quo. Mayu and Io are dexterous and good at ukemi and jumping. What do I have in comparison? Which skills do I need to improve to be at a higher level? I had been wondering for a long time. That is why I decided to take the plunge and train myself from the ground up by jumping into a world with a different environment.
The struggles of being a foreigner in WWE
Over there, there is a class called "promo class" where we practice promos. The organization places great importance on character and storytelling, so being a good promo is a key point. When I first came to the U.S., I was given an assignment and practiced many times at home before the promo class, but during the performance I couldn't speak well in English and I was very sloppy. The coach was sighing and the classroom was quiet. I would drive to a big lake and sit there and cry in frustration. (Laughter). Also, when it comes to promos, you are required to do things that are not done in Japan. For example, for the time adjustment of a live broadcast, I was suddenly handed a microphone and asked to speak for one minute. I was often asked to speak for one minute. The tension was extraordinary, and many times I felt that my life was shortening.
Language barrier and other difficulties
All communication with producers, photographers, and coaches was in English, and at first I had a really hard time understanding the fast English spoken by native speakers. Communication is essential for building relationships among wrestlers, so I made sure to study English conversation every day. The English conversation classes that WWE offered twice a week were a real plus for me.
The most frightening thing about WWE is that once you miss a chance, they don't use you anymore. WWE is a mixed organization, but only one or two women's matches are scheduled per show, so basically only two to four wrestlers are allowed to compete. Everyone is vying for that narrow slot. Like myself, there were many wrestlers who were frustrated and depressed because their chances did not come around. They would say, "Oh, no matches are scheduled today either." I had never experienced the pain of not being assigned to a match in Japan, so it was painful.
That time she witnessed two women getting released before practice
It is a world where everyone's contract could be cut at any time. Before morning practice in the ring, when we were stretching with the girls, two of them were tapped on the shoulder by the coach. I was like, "Huh? Where are they going?", and then those two guys were taking their stuff out of the locker room. Then, without warning, I heard them crying and saying, "Thank you for everything". When I asked them about it, they told me that their contract was terminated that day. Because it is such a severe environment, it may be natural that there is a sense of tension during the matches.
Confusing advice from her coaches
I was also very confused left and right. Because WWE is a huge organization with top-level wrestlers from all over the world, there are dozens of coaches alone, and the advice they give is different. One coach said, "Smiling makes you look weak, so keep a straight face." I thought, "I see," and adopted that advice at first, but the audience did not respond well (wry smile). I was told all kinds of things, and when I adopted all of them, I started to lose sight of who I was. The fact that my hair was pink for a while was also a result of my character confusion.
Why she left WWE
When I left Japan in 2017, I promised my fans that I would go on a long journey, but that I would come back grown up. I told that to President Rossy Ogawa (now Executive Producer). In the first place, my goal was to learn first-class professional wrestling, and I didn't really intend to live permanently in the US.
I thought about retiring from wrestling. This is a personal story, but I lost my best friend to illness. I made a vow at her graveside and promised to make it happen: I was going to participate in WrestleMania. I wanted to make it happen for sure. Thanks to that, I was able to compete in three WrestleManias, had a title match with Asuka as Kabuki Warriors, became a champion in both NXT and WWE, and even received an award for the NXT overall competitor of the year.
After I moved to the U.S., my personal life was secondary to my professional life, and I was flying around and competing four times a week without a break, but then the pandemic hit, and I suddenly had time to myself. Then I took the time to do some introspection. I thought, "Where am I going to go from here? I had a sense of accomplishment that I had fulfilled my promise to my best friend and that I had done everything I could in my three years with WWE, and after several consultations with WWE, I decided to leave.
