KAIRI Wrestled Historic Match With A Sprained Foot

For all the high-profile matches she's had over the course of her career, the most high-pressure match KAIRI was involved with came recently in November when she battled May Iwatani to become the first-ever IWGP Women's Champion at Historic X-Over. Speaking with New Japan Pro-Wrestling about the match, KAIRI admitted there was a lot on her mind going into the bout, and a lot of pressure to stay both mentally and physically sharp. Yet while preparing for this bout, and another match for Stardom, something happened to go wrong that threatened to derail things. 

"I thought I was fully prepared for the two nights, mentally and physically," KAIRI said. "But then as I was training right before Osaka (vs. Saya Kamitani), I sprained my foot. My ankle was swollen up really badly, and the doctor told me not to wrestle. I got through the Osaka match which really helped me from a mental standpoint, but with Mayu the next day I was definitely worried."

Fortunately for KAIRI, everything worked out. She managed to wrestle Iwatani, defeating her to enter the history books with this historic title win. And with Tam Nakano now on the horizon at Wrestle Kingdom 17 to kick off 2023 — and perhaps a future date with Sasha Banks, or whatever she's calling herself by then — KAIRI recognizes how important her victory was.

"It's hard to sum up," KAIRI said. "There was so much emotion before and after the match; with all the past I have with Mayu, Historic X-Over really was the right name for that event."