It was a huge weekend in Japan with multiple companies holding major events and most of them seemed to feature an abundance of title changes. New Japan, All Japan, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and Tokyo Joshi Pro all saw major titles changes, but an occurrence with World Women Pro-Wrestling Diana (DIANA) at their Saturday night event in Yokohama, Japan has re-opened reports of one of Japan’s top stars leaving the company and country. In the main event, DIANA World Champion Sareee was defeated by Ayako Sato, ending Sareee’s second reign at 237-days.
A former DIANA Tag Team Champion, the win marks Ayako Sato’s first singles title as the 34-year old veteran of All-Japan Women’s Wrestling (AJW), Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project (JWP), NEO Ladies, and much more finally won a World title after 19-years in the business. She made her debut in 2001.
For 23-year old Sareee, it would appear that past reports of WWE courting the joshi star may in fact be true, as post-match, Sareee announced she was leaving DIANA in February to “head to the USA”. While she did not mention WWE (or NXT, her most likely destination), reports of Triple H and other WWE staff courting the sensation have been rampant for months, after Sareee confirmed the mutual interest to Tokyo Sports. There is always a chance that another US promotion ends up winning her signature on a contract, such as All Elite Wrestling who has already begun utilizing many joshi stars of their own, including Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Yuka Sakazaki, and current AEW Women’s Champion Riho.
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