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80-415: To date, there have only been two tournaments. The first was held in the summer of 2017 and was won by Kairi Sane . The second was held in 2018 and was won by Toni Storm —the final of the second tournament was held at WWE's first all female pay-per-view , Evolution . As a result of both tournaments, many competitors from the independent circuit were signed by WWE to compete on their NXT brand, with some from

160-595: A bachelor's degree in Japanese literature , Housako began pursuing a career in acting . She also did some theater work and one of her performances, where she performed as a professional wrestling villain , was seen by Fuka , the general manager of the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, who invited Housako to one of their events. She quickly fell in love with professional wrestling's aspect of combining acting with sports and decided to become

240-639: A six-woman tag team match . During 2024 WWE Draft , Sane (as a part of Damage CTRL) was assigned to the Raw brand . At Backlash France , Sane and Asuka lost their titles to Belair and Cargill, ending their second reign at 99 days. She attempted to regain the titles at Crown Jewel , this time teaming with Iyo Sky, in a losing effort. In 2016, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter referred to Housako and her fellow Japanese wrestlers Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani as "three of

320-500: A two out of three falls match , but she failed to regain the title after interference from Duke and Shafir again. Because of the interferences, Sane eventually aligned with her best friend Io Shirai and Dakota Kai against Baszler, Duke and Shafir. Shortly after, Kai was sidelined with an injury and Sane continued to team with Shirai, forming a tag team known as "The Sky Pirates" while continuing to defeat various teams. On April 5, 2019, at TakeOver: New York , Sane competed in

400-439: A "Pirate Princess" persona, she became a one-time World of Stardom Champion , a one-time Wonder of Stardom Champion , a three-time Goddesses of Stardom Champion and a five-time Artist of Stardom Champion. She also won the 2015 5Star Grand Prix Tournament and the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League . In 2017, she signed with WWE, where she adopted the ring name Kairi Sane. She won the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament

480-548: A 5-on-5-on-5 elimination tag team match, being eliminated by Sasha Banks . On December 1 at Starrcade , The Kabuki Warriors successfully retained the tag team titles against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross and Bayley and Sasha Banks when Asuka submitted Cross. On the December 2 episode of Raw , Sane and Asuka defeated Flair in a handicap match . The following week on Raw , Sane and Asuka lost to Lynch by disqualification when Asuka attacked Becky with

560-418: A chair, and Sane performed an Insane Elbow on Lynch through a table. Sane and Asuka subsequently challenged Lynch and Flair to a WWE Women's Tag Team title match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , which they accepted. At the event, The Kabuki Warriors retained their titles against Lynch and Flair in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match ; during the match, Sane suffered a legitmate concussion, which caused

640-865: A desire to establish a Divas Tag Team Championship—from 1999 to 2016, female performers were referred to as Divas and their top championship from 2010 to 2016 was the WWE Divas Championship . The idea for a women's tag team championship was seemingly forgotten about until mid-2018; in an interview with Sky Sports , WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon stated that in regards to the titles debuting, "Not quite yet, but that's absolutely something we've heard loud and clear from our fan base and it's something we're keen on implementing as soon as we are able to". Prior to WWE's first all-female pay-per-view (PPV) Evolution in October, speculations—including comments from current female wrestlers—arose that

720-590: A fatal four–way match for the vacant NXT Women's Championship . but was unsuccessful as Ember Moon won the match. On January 28, 2018, at the Royal Rumble , Sane participated in the first women's Royal Rumble match , entering at number 6 and lasting around 5 minutes before being eliminated by Dana Brooke . A few months later, she also participated in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34 , alongside other NXT superstars, but

800-489: A fatal–four-way match for the NXT Women's Championship, however, she was unsuccessful in capturing the title as Baszler submitted Bianca Belair to retain. Just six days later, on April 11 (episode aired on tape delay on April 17), Sane lost a rematch to Baszler after Io Shirai attacked Baszler who was looking to injure Sane. Because of her loss, Sane is not allowed to challenge for the NXT Women's Championship anymore, which

880-399: A four-month reign, she lost the title to Meiko Satomura on July 26. Hojo bounced back by winning Stardom's top singles tournament, the 5★Star GP, by defeating Hudson Envy in the finals on September 23. At the end of the year, Hojo was named Stardom's MVP of 2015. In January 2016, Hojo came together with former rivals Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani to form a new stable. On February 28, 2016,

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960-622: A free agent in March 2023 and returned to WWE at 2023 Crown Jewel . Kaori Housako was born on September 23, 1988, in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She has a sister, who is three years older than her. She has an extensive sports background in yachting , competing in intercollegiate and national competitions, while also taking part in world championships with dreams of making it to the Olympics. After graduating from Hosei University with

1040-419: A non-title match after once again using green mist. As part of the 2019 Draft in mid-October, Asuka and Sane were both drafted to the Raw brand. On the October 28, 2019, episode of Raw , The Kabuki Warriors turned on Paige and used the green mist on her. That same night, Sane went one-on-one with Lynch, where she lost by submission. Asuka and Sane made their returns to NXT on the October 30 episode to defend

1120-485: A non-title match. The following week on Raw, Sane was viciously assaulted by Bayley backstage during the Raw Women's Championship match between Asuka and Banks. This was done to write her out of the storylines as Sane announced her departure from WWE on Twitter as she was heading back to Japan to be with her husband. WWE later confirmed Sane's departure on their website. On July 29, 2020, WWE's YouTube channel released

1200-402: A professional wrestling event co-promoted by Stardom and its sister promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), to become the inaugural IWGP Women's Champion . In 2023, Kairi defended her title against Tam Nakano at Wrestle Kingdom 17 . After the match, she was confronted and attacked by Mercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks). Moné then challenged Kairi to a title match at Battle in

1280-491: A removable center section that can be customized with the champion's logos; the default side plates feature the WWE logo on a globe. Generally, the reigning team will have one side plate on each belt dedicated to each champion, unless the team has a name (e.g., The Kabuki Warriors). As of November 28, 2024, there have been 27 reigns between 21 teams composed of 34 individual champions and two vacancies. The inaugural championship team

1360-526: A second referee to the ring, who ruled that Kai submitted to Baszler, although Kai was not the legal woman. The following week, in response to the controversy, NXT General Manager William Regal established the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship for the brand as to not deal with Raw and SmackDown's politics any longer, and awarded the championship to Kai and González. The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship effectively became no longer available to NXT. During

1440-629: A short hiatus, The Kabuki Warriors returned in September and defeated Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville . On October 6 at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, The Kabuki Warriors finally won the Women's Tag Team Championship from Bliss and Cross, after Asuka used the green mist on Cross. The next night on Raw , The Kabuki Warriors completed their transition into heels , as they cut a promo on both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and went onto defeat them in

1520-524: A significant head cut. Sane made her televised return since her injury on the July 6 episode of Raw , as she challenged Sasha Banks in a match that ended in a disqualification due to Bayley's interference. Weeks after, The Kabuki Warriors unsuccessfully challenged Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. On the July 20 episode of Raw , she defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley in

1600-529: A tag team match. At World Climax: The Top, she defeated Starlight Kid . She ruptured her eardrum during the match and revealed the injury in a post-match interview. She made her return on May 28 at Stardom Flashing Champions , where she teamed with Tam Nakano as "White Knights" to defeat Queen's Quest ( Utami Hayashishita and Miyu Amasaki ) in a tag team match. In April 2023, the team of Kairi, Natsupoi and Saori Anou of REStart defeated Hiragi Kurumi , Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki of Prominence for

1680-402: A video chronicling Sane's last week in WWE. The video features Sane saying her goodbyes to everyone in WWE as she prepares to go back to Japan with superstars such as Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura and Akira Tozawa all wishing her well. On October 2, 2020, Sane announced that she had started working as an ambassador and trainer for WWE's branch in her native Japan. On October 25, she was part of

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1760-417: A wrestler herself. Housako started training with Stardom in 2011. On November 14, 2011, she passed her "pro test" and graduated as part of Stardom's third class of trainees, alongside Act Yasukawa , Natsumi Showzuki and Yuuri Haruka. Housako, now working under the ring name "Kairi Hojo", made her debut for Stardom on January 7, 2012, losing to Yuzuki Aikawa . Playing off her yachting background, Hojo

1840-471: Is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress . As of November 2023, she is signed to WWE , where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kairi Sane ( カイリ・セイン , Kairi Sein ) , where she is a member of Damage CTRL . From 2012 to 2017, she wrestled for the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi Hojo ( 宝城 カイリ , Hōjō Kairi ) . Embodying

1920-412: Is a gold banner that reads "Champions". The design uses Greek -based elements, such as the center plate being encircled by a meander pattern with a margent ornamentation in the inner circle (the men's tag titles for Raw and SmackDown were also Greek inspired prior to their respective redesigns in 2024). In what has become a prominent feature with WWE's championship belts, the two side plates feature

2000-487: The 2024 Royal Rumble match entering the match at number 11, she eliminated Candice LeRae before being eliminated by Carter. At Elimination Chamber: Perth pre-show, Sane and Asuka defended their titles against the team of Indi Hartwell and LeRae. At NXT Roadblock , they defeated the team of Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley to retain their titles. On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL , Damage CTRL (Sane, Asuka, and Kai) were defeated by Belair, Naomi , and Jade Cargill in

2080-591: The Artist of Stardom Championship at Stardom All Star Grand Queendom . On May 27, at Flashing Champions , REStart lost their title to the Baribari Bombers ( Giulia , Mai Sakurai and Thekla ), ending their reign at 34 days. Kairi's last match in Stardom was a six-woman tag team match at Stardom Nagoya Golden Fight . In November 2022, Kairi defeated Mayu Iwatani in the main event of Historic X-Over ,

2160-502: The Goddesses of Stardom Championship . Their reign, however, lasted only a month, as they were stripped of the title when Showzuki was sidelined with a cervical spine injury . Showzuki never returned from her injury, instead resigning from Stardom. On June 23, 2013, Hojo teamed with Kaori Yoneyama and Yuhi to defeat Christina Von Eerie , Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura for the vacant Artist of Stardom Championship . They lost

2240-596: The Money in the Bank ladder match at the eponymous event . On the next episode of Raw , after Lynch's announcement, Sane was seen backstage with some of the other wrestlers congratulating Lynch, thus turning The Kabuki Warriors face as Sane celebrated Asuka's championship victory before being interrupted by Nia Jax , thus beginning a feud. On the June 6 episode of Raw , which was taped on May and aired on tape delay , Sane suffered

2320-564: The WWE Women's Championship against Bianca Belair , and joined the SmackDown brand . On the following episode of SmackDown , Sane confronted Bayley and forgave her for her actions in 2020 and joined Damage CTRL . On the same episode, during a six-woman tag team match pitting Asuka with Belair and Charlotte Flair against Damage CTRL (Bayley, Sky and Sane), Asuka turned on her teammates to reunite with Sane while joining Damage CTRL at

2400-499: The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship . After weeks of avoiding them, The IIconics lost to The Kabuki Warriors during WWE's tour in Tokyo , which earned The Kabuki Warriors a title match. The title match took place on the July 16 episode of SmackDown , where The IIconics retained after they got themselves counted-out. In August, The Kabuki Warriors failed to capture the titles from then-champions Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross . After

2480-536: The WWF Women's Tag Team Championship due to the lack of women's tag teams in the division. This remained true up through the 2000s—in 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In the early 2010s, the women's division began growing, and in 2012, WWE.com ran an article supporting the resurrection of the Women's Tag Team Championship. In 2014, The Bella Twins ( Brie Bella and Nikki Bella ) discussed

Mae Young Classic - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-494: The independent circuit and would air on the company's online streaming service, the WWE Network . The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young , a WWE Hall of Famer who is considered one of the pioneers of women's professional wrestling. The inaugural tournament was won by Kairi Sane . In April 2018, a second tournament was announced, and like the first, it also featured wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and those from

2640-474: The American promotion WWE . It is the only women's tag team championship in WWE, thus is defended across both main roster brand divisions , Raw and SmackDown , and the developmental brand , NXT . The titles are vacated. The championship was announced on the December 24, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw . Bayley and Sasha Banks , then going by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection , became

2720-492: The Artist of Stardom Championship to Hana Kimura, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura in their third defense. On November 11, Hojo and Yoko Bito defeated Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani in the finals to win the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League . Following the match, Shirai turned on Iwatani and disbanded Threedom. On December 22, Hojo and Bito defeated Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura to become the new Goddesses of Stardom Champions. They lost

2800-450: The Artist of Stardom Championship. Following the match, Hojo confirmed her impending departure from Stardom, without specifically mentioning WWE. Sane had contemplated retirement due to her age and injuries, but decided to go wrestle overseas after consulting Bull Nakano . The following day, Threedom reunited for one final match together, defeating Hiromi Mimura, HZK and Jungle Kyona in a six-woman tag team match. Hojo's one-year reign as

2880-547: The August 8 episode of Raw . Although the championship was no longer defended on NXT, one team from the brand competed in the tournament as part of the SmackDown bracket. The team of Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez (formerly Raquel González) won the tournament to win the vacant championship. As a result of the 2023 WWE Draft , reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were drafted to SmackDown and took

2960-497: The January 14, 2019, episode of Raw . The belts feature three plates on a white leather strap, which is smaller than the men's titles. The three plates are outlined in gold while the inner portion is mostly silver. The WWE logo is affixed at the top of the circular center plate, which has four protruding edges. At the center, the word "Tag Team" is prominently written in gold. Above that is a gold banner that reads "Women's" while below

3040-480: The Japanese-language commentary team for the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. In December 2021, she left WWE after her contract expired. On February 18, 2022, Housako made her return to Stardom; going by the ring name Kairi. Her in-ring return was at World Climax event in March. At World Climax: The Best, she teamed with Mayu Iwatani and defeated Cosmic Angels ( Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka ) in

3120-411: The March 3, 2021, episode of NXT , WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defended the championship against NXT's Dakota Kai and Raquel González , who had earned the title opportunity for winning the inaugural Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic . The match ended in controversy, however, as the referee was taken out and Adam Pearce , the WWE official of Raw and SmackDown, sent

3200-502: The May 16, 2022, episode of Raw , reigning champions Sasha Banks and Naomi reportedly walked out after a meeting with Vince McMahon due to a creative dispute. WWE released an official statement, in which the company stated that Banks and Naomi "walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis ' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out". The two were originally booked for

3280-525: The Shōwa period, aligned herself with the likes of Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa. On August 10, Hojo regained the Goddesses of Stardom Championship, when she and Takahashi defeated Alpha Female and Kyoko Kimura. After an eight-month reign, she was again stripped of the title, when Takahashi was sidelined with an ankle injury. In February 2015, following an incident between Act Yasukawa and Yoshiko , Hojo

Mae Young Classic - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-402: The Stardom roster that ended in three wins, six draws and one loss. In October 2016, Housako was contacted and offered a WWE contract, starting the following year. Reportedly, Housako had stated that she was interested in going to WWE, but had not made a final decision yet. There were also questions over whether she could pass the company's physical examination due to her two concussions during

3440-501: The Valley . At the event, Kairi was defeated by Moné; ending her reign at 90 days. On March 24, 2023, Housako confirmed she became a free agent. On August 5, it was reported she has come to terms with WWE and would return to the company. On November 2, it was reported that she had been added to WWE's internal roster. She made her return at Crown Jewel reverting back to her WWE ring name Kairi Sane, and assisting Iyo Sky in retaining

3520-524: The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Team Kick ( Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox ); marking the first time the titles were defended on NXT where they retained. On the November 4 episode of Raw , The Kabuki Warriors lost to Flair and Natalya when Asuka submitted to Natalya. The following week, Sane and Asuka retained their titles against Lynch and Flair following interference from Shayna Baszler and Bayley . Sane represented Team Raw at Survivor Series in

3600-515: The Wonder of Stardom Champion ended on May 14, when she lost the title to Mayu Iwatani in her ninth title defense, falling one defense short of tying Santana Garrett's record for most defenses. Hojo wrestled her final matches for Stardom on June 4. After Hojo, Mimura and Konami lost the Artist of Stardom Championship back to AZM, HZK and Shirai in their second defense, Hojo wrestled an unadvertised ten-match one-minute time limit series against members of

3680-639: The Wonder of Stardom Championship, winning the title in her fourth attempt. On August 8, Hojo debuted for the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), defeating Jungle Kyona at an event in Shanghai . On September 3, Hojo defeated Io Shirai to take over the leadership of the Red Stars block in the 2016 5★Star GP. However, during the match, she suffered a concussion, which forced her to pull out of her remaining tournament. On October 2, Threedom lost

3760-563: The Year. In 2020, she returned to Japan to join her husband, and worked as a WWE ambassador and trainer in her native country until December 2021 when her contract expired. After her stint with WWE, she returned to World Wonder Ring Stardom in February 2022 and performed under ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps ). She also performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where she was a one-time and inaugural IWGP Women's Champion . She became

3840-436: The best wrestlers in the world". Housako as Kairi Sane is a playable character in video games WWE 2K19 , WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K24 (upcoming "Global Superstars Pack" DLC ). Housako married on February 22, 2020. WWE Women%27s Tag Team Champion As individual (4 reigns): The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by

3920-436: The division, it got delayed. Fightful also noted there had been confusion regarding the original creation of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship, as the company already had the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and there were not many women's tag teams in the division. Furthermore, it was noted that the plan after the unification was that the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would appear on NXT programming "when needed", which

4000-494: The first champions in February 2019 and were part of the Raw brand during their inaugural reign. The title was originally established to be available to Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, but after a controversial finish to a title defense in March 2021, the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was created, thus the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became no longer available to NXT. After the titles were unified in June 2023, however, NXT's title

4080-418: The first night of WrestleMania 36 , The Kabuki Warriors lost their Women's Tag Team Championships to the team of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, ending their reign at 181 days, the longest reign for the titles so far. On the May 11, 2020, episode of Raw , then-Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch vacated her title in order to take maternity leave, revealing that Asuka won the championship the night before by winning

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4160-407: The inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. During the December 24, 2018, special Christmas episode of Raw , WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon officially announced that a new WWE Women's Tag Team Championship would be introduced in 2019. On the January 14, 2019, episode of Raw , the championship belts were unveiled by Alexa Bliss on her segment, "A Moment of Bliss". After

4240-567: The independent circuit and also aired on the WWE Network. It was also held in the summer, but the final was scheduled for WWE's first all female pay-per-view , Evolution on October 28. The winner of the second tournament was Toni Storm . In August 2019, WWE executive and NXT head Triple H confirmed that a 2019 edition of the Mae Young Classic was being planned. In October, WWE listed tickets for sale for November 2–3; however,

4320-478: The match, lastly eliminating Rose & Deville by way of Banks submitting Deville, to become the inaugural champions. The title headlined a pay-per-view and livestreaming event for the first time at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019 . The Kabuki Warriors ( Asuka and Kairi Sane ) defended the championship against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the first women's tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match , where The Kabuki Warriors retained. On

4400-757: The number one contender, Sane reignited her rivalry with Shayna Baszler , as the two exchanged victories in the Mae Young Classic Finals and at NXT and faced off in a match at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 on August 18 where Sane was able to defeat Bazsler to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time in her career. On October 28, at the WWE Evolution pay–per–view, Sane lost the championship back to Baszler (after interference from her allies Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir) ending her reign at 71 days. Three weeks later, at TakeOver: WarGames , Sane received her rematch against Baszler in

4480-610: The past two years. In March 2017, Housako signed a three-year contract with WWE, reportedly for $ 60,000 per year, which was less than she was making in Japan. On June 30, a video at a WWE house show in Tokyo, introduced Housako as "Kairi Sane" to WWE's developmental brand , NXT , as well as the upcoming Mae Young Classic tournament. On July 13, she defeated Tessa Blanchard in the tournament's first round in her WWE debut match. The following day, Sane first defeated Bianca Belair in

4560-588: The posting was later removed and the 2019 tournament never happened. The winner of the Mae Young Classic was awarded the Mae Young Classic Trophy, made in the likeness of the event's logo for that respective year. Kairi Sane was also awarded a match for the NXT Women's Championship for winning the 2017 tournament; however, Toni Storm did not receive a championship match for winning the 2018 tournament. Kairi Sane Kaori Housako ( 宝迫 香織 , Hōsako Kaori , born September 23, 1988)

4640-458: The promotion would debut the titles at the event. Just prior to the event, Stephanie said that the titles would be coming "sooner than we think"; the titles, however, were not debuted at Evolution. Speculation died down after the event, however, on the December 3, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw , when questioned by a fan about what they wanted to bring to the women's division in 2019, Bayley and Sasha Banks stated that they wanted to become

4720-433: The record with four reigns. As a team, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) have the longest reign at 171–172 days (180 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay ), while the team of Bliss and Asuka have the shortest reign at 5 days (4 days as recognized by WWE). As a team, The Kabuki Warriors have the longest combined reign at 270–271 days (278 days as recognized by WWE due to tape delay), while individually, Asuka has

4800-409: The remainder of the match to be changed on the fly. Following TLC, Sane would accompany Asuka on the entrance stage during a segment between Asuka and Lynch but didn't go to ringside with Asuka during her matches. Sane made her TV return on the January 20 episode of Raw , losing to Lynch by submission. On the March 2 episode of Raw , she returned to the ring in a losing effort against Shayna Baszler. On

4880-492: The same time (subsequently reforming the Kabuki Warriors). At Survivor Series WarGames , Damage CTRL lost to Belair, Flair, Becky Lynch , and Shotzi in a WarGames match . On the January 26, 2024, episode of SmackDown , Sane and Asuka defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships for the second time as a team and Sane's second time individually. Sane then competed in

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4960-537: The same year, and was then assigned to the NXT brand. She captured the NXT Women's Championship in 2018 and subsequently won the 2018 NXT Year-End Awards for Female Competitor of the Year and for Overall Competitor of the Year. In 2019, she debuted on WWE's main roster, where she became a one-time and the longest reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champion , along with Asuka as part of The Kabuki Warriors . The team also received 2019 WWE Year-End Award for Women's Tag Team of

5040-536: The second round, then Dakota Kai in quarterfinals and finally Toni Storm in the semifinals to advance to the finals of the tournament. Reportedly, Sane suffered both a concussion and a neck injury during the tapings. On September 12, Sane defeated Shayna Baszler in the tournament finals and thereby earned a shot at the vacant NXT Women's Championship at the next NXT TakeOver show. In October 2017, Sane made her television debut on NXT , defeating Aliyah . In November, at TakeOver: WarGames , Sane competed in

5120-466: The second tournament being signed to the upstart NXT UK brand. A 2019 tournament was planned but fell through. At a press conference during the weekend of WrestleMania 33 , the American professional wrestling promotion WWE announced that a women's tournament would be taking place in the summer of 2017, with a total of 32 wrestlers competing. It was also announced that the tournament would be involve wrestlers from WWE's NXT brand and wrestlers from

5200-406: The show's main event, which had to be reworked. On the following episode of SmackDown , it was announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely, therefore the titles were vacated (they both later left the company). A tournament was also announced to determine new champions. On the August 5 episode of SmackDown , WWE official Adam Pearce announced that the tournament would begin on

5280-506: The three teams from Raw, qualification matches were held and began on the January 28 episode of Raw . The teams of Nia Jax & Tamina and The Riott Squad ( Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan ) qualified by defeating the teams of Alexa Bliss & Mickie James and Natalya & Dana Brooke , respectively. The following week, The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) defeated Alicia Fox & Nikki Cross to win Raw's final spot. No qualification matches were held to determine

5360-441: The three teams from SmackDown due to its smaller roster, and instead, each team declared their participation. The team of Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville announced theirs on the January 29 episode of SmackDown Live , The IIconics ( Billie Kay and Peyton Royce ) confirmed their entry via Twitter , and Carmella & Naomi accepted the final spot on the February 5 episode. The Boss 'n' Hug Connection would go on and win

5440-495: The three, now billed collectively as "Threedom" (a combination of the words "Three" and "Stardom"), defeated Evie , Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater to win the Artist of Stardom Championship. In April, Hojo, along with Iwatani and Shirai, traveled to the United States to take part in events held by Lucha Underground and Vendetta Pro Wrestling. On May 15, Hojo won another title, when she defeated Santana Garrett for

5520-451: The title to Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona in their second defense on March 5, 2017. Also in March, it was reported that Hojo had told Stardom's office that she was leaving the promotion for WWE the following month. On March 20, Hojo unsuccessfully challenged Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship. On May 6, Hojo, Hiromi Mimura and Konami defeated AZM, HZK and Io Shirai to win

5600-569: The title to Kimura, Alpha Female and The Female Predator "Amazon" on November 4. In May 2014, Hojo made her Mexican debut by representing Stardom in the DragonMania 9 and Lucha Fan Fest 8 events. In August, Stardom's roster was split in half as part of a storyline rivalry between older wrestlers born in the Shōwa period and younger wrestlers born in the Heisei period . Hojo, having been born in

5680-409: The titles with them, claiming they would defend the title across all three brands, although they never did and only had non-title matches on SmackDown . On the June 9 episode, as they were about to have an in-ring interview, Fyre and Dawn were interrupted by reigning WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, who challenged Fyre and Dawn to a championship unification match, which

5760-409: The unveiling, Bliss announced that the inaugural champions would be decided at Elimination Chamber on February 17, 2019, in a tag team Elimination Chamber match, featuring three teams from Raw and three teams from SmackDown , making the title available to both brands . On the February 18 episode of Raw , it was revealed that the titles could also be defended on the NXT brand. To determine

5840-425: Was Bayley and Sasha Banks, who at the time went by the team name of The Boss 'n' Hug Connection. As a team, they are tied with the teams of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky ), The Kabuki Warriors ( Asuka and Kairi Sane ), Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan , and Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill for the most reigns at two, while individually, Asuka holds

5920-470: Was a way to write her off the brand. On the April 16, 2019, episode of SmackDown Live , Paige announced that she would be managing a newly formed women's tag team, consisting of Sane, who as a result was drafted to the main roster, and Asuka . The team of Sane and Asuka, later dubbed "The Kabuki Warriors", was immediately put in a feud with The IIconics ( Billie Kay and Peyton Royce ) over

6000-430: Was accepted and scheduled for the June 23 episode of SmackDown . Rousey and Baszler won to become the undisputed WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, thus making the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship available to NXT again. The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship was subsequently retired in the process. According to Fightful , the unification match was planned to happen right after the draft, but due to various injuries within

6080-713: Was dubbed "Pirate Princess". She quickly became a founding member of the Zenryoku Joshi stable , led by Aikawa. In November 2012, Hojo formed a new tag team with Natsumi Showzuki, with the two finishing second in the 2012 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League . Zenryoku Joshi disbanded in January 2013, when Hojo unsuccessfully challenged her stablemate Yuzuki Aikawa for the Wonder of Stardom Championship . Hojo won her first title on April 29, 2013, at Ryōgoku Cinderella , where she and Showzuki, billed collectively as "Ho-Show Tennyo", defeated Hailey Hatred and Kyoko Kimura for

6160-422: Was eliminated from the match by Sasha Banks . Shortly after, Sane started a feud with Lacey Evans as the two exchanged victories and attacked each other throughout the next few weeks. Eventually, Sane was able to defeat Evans on the June 6 episode of NXT , in a final match between the two, to end their feud. In July, after she defeated Candice LeRae and Nikki Cross in a triple–threat match to become

6240-452: Was named an intermediary between the wrestlers and management in order to bring the two sides closer. Following the incident, Stardom's top title, the World of Stardom Championship , was declared vacant with a tournament scheduled to determine the new champion. On March 29, Hojo defeated first Kyoko Kimura and then Io Shirai to win the World of Stardom Championship for the first time. After

6320-441: Was retired, and the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship became eligible to NXT once again. The title has been contested in the headlining match of one WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event : TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019 . The title is distinct from the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship that was contested from 1983 to 1989 and does not share its lineage. In 1989, the then- World Wrestling Federation (WWF) abandoned

6400-470: Was the original plan for the title. After Sasha Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely and the titles had been vacated, SmackDown commentator Michael Cole announced that there would be a tournament to declare new champions. The tournament began on the August 8 episode of Raw and was held across episodes of Raw and SmackDown until its conclusion on the August 29 episode of Raw . The championship belts were unveiled by wrestler Alexa Bliss on

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