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AJ Styles says he was ‘caught off guard’ by Kairi Sane’s WWE exit

Posted: May 4th 2026 By: Ian Carey

AJ Styles says he was caught off guard by Kairi Sane’s WWE departure.

Sane was one of several names part of WWE’s post-WrestleMania 42 roster cuts revealed last week.

On an episode of his Phenomenally Retro podcast published on Sunday, Styles said he doesn’t have any answers for what led to Sane exiting the company, but did say he felt she was doing some of the best work of her career.

Styles said:

“We don’t know exactly what the case is. That one caught me off guard as well because it was a great tag team thing. I feel like Kairi is doing her best work as of now. I wish I had answers. I don’t have these answers for you guys. I don’t. I don’t know what this means for her. I don’t know. I mean, is she done wrestling? Is she going to go back to Stardom? What’s next for Kairi Sane? But I know that she was loved and she was amazing. Yeah, I just hate that.”

Styles also addressed the belief that Sane wanted to return to Japan.

“I will say this: the first time that she left, she went home to Japan. And I don’t know if that had anything to do with this. I doubt it was her choice because I felt like she was really rolling well. But I don’t know. I’m just saying that she went back to Japan last time that she left. I think she wanted to go home.

“So I get it. Given the opportunity, living in another country, I’d always want to go home myself.”
Kairi Sane’s WWE exit

Dave Meltzer wrote in Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE being under the impression that Sane would like to move back to Japan at some point factored into its decision to release her.

Meltzer wrote:

“We were told part of it was the belief she wanted to move back to Japan at some point and with that knowledge it was part of the decision making.”

Sane has posted to social media that she did not “walk away” from WWE last week.