Speculation Mounts Around Recent WWE Release Returning at Backlash

Could one of the recent WWE releases be short-lived, if even for one night?

Almost 30 names across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT have departed WWE in recent weeks following WrestleMania 42. One of the most surprising among them was former Women's Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane, who has been consistently featured on WWE programming in recent months as the storyline catalyst between Asuka and IYO SKY.

A rumored match was reportedly discussed between SKY and Asuka at WrestleMania 42, but ended up being pushed to Backlash instead. But now, the storyline will seemingly reach its conclusion without Kairi Sane.

Or will it...?

Kairi Sane might return at WWE Backlash

According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, there is a belief among some in WWE that Kairi Sane will return this weekend at Backlash to help finish up the ongoing storyline between Asuka and IYO SKY.

"Within WWE, it's felt there is a better than 50% chance that Kairi shows up at Backlash to at least finish off that storyline," Bryan Alvarez said.

While this all sounds very speculative and far from a sure thing, WWE does have the opportunity to give a long-running storyline closure this weekend. Even if this were a one-and-done appearance for Sane, it would be nice for her fans to be able to give her a proper send-off.

選手として人生やキャリアを考える上で誰しもいつかは分岐点が来るのは理解しているけども、それが突然のタイミングにおとずれてしまったことを私は寂しく思います💔

カイリはパフォーマーとしてもひとりの人間としても、ほんとに同僚みんなに愛されていました。… pic.twitter.com/zrJZXeWI6t
— IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) April 25, 2026

Kairi Sane is still under 90-day non-compete with WWE

There's obviously no guarantee at this point that Kairi Sane will be in Tampa this weekend for Backlash, as she had already returned home to Japan following her WWE release.

But if WWE wants Sane back for one date, she could potentially be contractually obligated to appear this weekend. A similar situation to this took place back when WWE was running Raw and SmackDown out of the Performance Center during the pandemic, when Heath Slater, who was recently released at the time, was brought back to WWE programming to lose a match to his former 3MB stablemate and WWE Champion at the time, Drew McIntyre.

While this appearance could lead to an even greater groundswell from the WWE Universe to bring Sane back into the fold full-time, nothing is guaranteed right now. With TKO reportedly asking multiple talents to take 50% pay cuts, it appears the company is looking to cut costs.

Stay tuned for more coverage of WWE Backlash later this weekend.

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