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The Kabuki Warriors

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The Kabuki Warriors
Asuka (left) and Kairi Sane (right)
Tag team
MembersAsuka
Kairi Sane
Name(s)The Kabuki Warriors
Former
member(s)		Paige (manager)
DebutApril 16, 2019
Years active2019–2020
2023–present

The Kabuki Warriors (カブキウォリアーズ, Kabuki Woriāzu) are a Japanese professional wrestling tag team consisting of Asuka and Kairi Sane. They are both currently signed to WWE, where they perform on the Raw brand and are members of Damage CTRL. They are former two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, with their first reign being the longest in the title's history. Asuka was a former one-time Raw Women's Champion and had won the women's Money in the Bank as part of the team.

The team originally formed as faces in April 2019 with Paige as their manager, before turning heels and kicking Paige out the following October. Asuka and Sane amicably split up in July 2020 when the latter left WWE to return to Japan. Sane returned in November 2023 at Crown Jewel and the two reunited as part of the Damage CTRL stable.

History

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Women's Tag Team Champions (2019–2020)

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After spending some weeks away to promote the movie Fighting with My Family, retired WWE wrestler Paige made a backstage appearance on the April 9, 2019, episode of SmackDown, where she announced that she would be bringing a new tag team to the SmackDown women's division to feud with The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[1] A week later, Paige introduced the newly formed team of Asuka and Kairi Sane, dubbed "The Kabuki Warriors", who subsequently made their debut as a team by teaming with Bayley and Ember Moon to defeat The IIconics and the team of Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.[2] Kabuki Warriors would then pick up wins over local wrestlers on the April 30 episode of SmackDown and the team of Rose and Deville on the May 14 SmackDown, before beginning a feud with The IIconics over the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship throughout the summer.[3][4] After defeating The IIconics at live events in Tokyo on June 28,[5] The Kabuki Warriors received an opportunity against The IIconics for the tag team championship on the July 16 episode of SmackDown which they won by count out; however, The IIconics retained as titles do not change hands by count out unless stipulated.[6]

On the August 5 episode of Raw, The Kabuki Warriors participated in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship but were the last ones eliminated by Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross.[7] They unsuccessfully challenged Bliss and Cross for the titles on the August 12 episode of Raw.[8] The Kabuki Warriors received another title shot against Bliss and Cross at the Hell in a Cell event, where The Kabuki Warriors won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, after Asuka used green mist on Cross, thus showing signs of a villainous turn.[9][10] The Kabuki Warriors were then drafted to the Raw brand on the October 14 episode of Raw.[11] They solidified their status as villains on the October 28 episode of Raw by turning on their manager Paige when Asuka spat mist into Paige's face and thus ending their association with her.[12]

The Kabuki Warriors retained the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox on the October 30 episode of NXT and Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair on the November 11 episode of Raw.[13][14] At Survivor Series, The Kabuki Warriors represented Raw in the 5-on-5-on-5 women's Survivor Series match against Team SmackDown and Team NXT, which Team NXT won. During the match, Asuka turned on her teammate Flair by spitting green mist on her, causing Flair to get eliminated, which led to The Kabuki Warriors beginning a feud with Lynch and Flair.[15][16] They successfully defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Lynch and Flair, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, and Bayley and Sasha Banks in a fatal four-way match at Starrcade.[17][18] The Kabuki Warriors continued their feud with Lynch and Flair, which led to them defending the titles against Lynch and Flair in the namesake main event of the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event, which Kabuki Warriors retained.[19] This led to Asuka entering a feud with Lynch in 2020 over the latter's Raw Women's Championship, which Asuka failed to win in subsequent matches at the Royal Rumble and the February 10 episode of Raw.[20][21]

The Kabuki Warriors would then begin feuding with Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, which led to a match between the two teams at WrestleMania 36, where The Kabuki Warriors lost the titles back to Bliss and Cross.[22] They unsuccessfully challenged Bliss and Cross for the titles in a rematch on the April 10 episode of SmackDown.[23]

Asuka's Raw Women's Championship reign and Sane's departure (2020)

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On the April 13 episode of Raw, Asuka defeated Ruby Riott to qualify for the women's Money in the Bank ladder match while Kairi Sane lost to Nia Jax in a qualifying match.[24] Asuka went on to win the match at the namesake event, thus winning the women's Money in the Bank contract which allowed her to cash in for a future title shot at the time and place of her choosing.[25] The following night on Raw, however, Asuka was awarded the Raw Women's Championship by former champion Becky Lynch, who gave the title to Asuka due to her pregnancy, which led to Asuka embracing Lynch and it resulted in The Kabuki Warriors turning into fan favorites.[26] As the Raw Women's Champion, Asuka became the second Women's Grand Slam winner and the third Women's Triple Crown winner. The Kabuki Warriors then began feuding with Sasha Banks and Bayley as Banks and Asuka fought to a no contest at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules after Bayley interfered and counted the pinfall for Banks though Banks was not recognized as champion. On the July 27 episode of Raw, Sane was viciously attacked by Bayley backstage during the Raw Women's Championship match between Asuka and Sasha Banks which led to Asuka running to the backstage area where she was counted out and lost the title. This was done to write Sane out of the storylines as she announced her departure from WWE on Twitter as she was heading back to Japan to be with her husband, effectively disbanding The Kabuki Warriors.[27][28][29]

Reunion and joining Damage CTRL (2023–present)

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Main article: Damage CTRL

Sane returned to WWE at Crown Jewel on November 4, 2023, and assisted Iyo Sky in retaining her WWE Women's Championship.[30] On the following episode of SmackDown, Sane forgave Bayley for her actions back in 2020 and joined Damage CTRL. Later that night, during a six-woman tag team match pitting Asuka with Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair against Damage CTRL (Bayley, Sky, and Sane), Asuka turned on her teammates to reunite with Sane and Sky and subsequently joined Damage CTRL the following week.[31][32] Damage CTRL faced the team of Belair, Flair, Shotzi and Becky Lynch in a WarGames match at Survivor Series: WarGames but were defeated after Lynch pinned Bayley.[33] On the December 15 episode of SmackDown, Asuka and Sane defeated Michin and Zelina Vega in their first return tag team match as The Kabuki Warriors.[34] On the January 26, 2024 episode of SmackDown, The Kabuki Warriors defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.[35] This is The Kabuki Warriors' record-tying second reign as a team and Asuka's record-setting fourth reign individually as champion. The Kabuki Warriors went onto retain their titles against Chance and Carter in a rematch on the February 5 episode of Raw, and against Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell at the Elimination Chamber: Perth pre-show. At NXT Roadblock on March 5, The Kabuki Warriors defeated Tatum Paxley and NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria to retain their titles. At Backlash France on May 4, The Kabuki Warriors lost the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship to the team of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, ending their second reign at 99 days.[36] Asuka later revealed that she was suffering from knee injury for months and had successfully undergo surgery.[37]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ Trionfo, Richard (9 April 2019). "WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: KOFI'S CELEBRATION, SAMI PULLS A LACEY, TAG TITLE MATCH TIMES TWO, AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ Trionfo, Richard (16 April 2019). "WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: NEW FACES, EIGHT WOMAN TAG MATCH, A NEW MEMBER OF THE NEW DAY (FOR A DAY), AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ^ Roy Nemer (April 30, 2019). "WWE Smackdown Results – 4/30/19 (Becky Lynch vs. Bayley, Kofi Kingston calls out Kevin Owens)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  4. ^ Mike Tedesco (May 14, 2019). "SPOILERS: 5/14 WWE Smackdown Live taping results from London to air tonight". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. ^ Yamada, Tomi (June 28, 2019). "6/28 WWE IN TOKYO, JAPAN RESULTS". PWInsider. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
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  7. ^ Trionfo, Richard (August 5, 2019). "WWE RAW REPORT: JOE WANTS AN APOLOGY, WOMEN'S TAG TITLE MATCH, PARKING LOT MAYHEM, AND A CONTRACT SIGNING". PWInsider. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. ^ Trionfo, Richard (August 12, 2019). "WWE RAW REPORT: CHAMPION VERSUS CHAMPION, A BOSS RETURN, PAUL IS SPEECHLESS, AND MORE". PWInsider. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Mike Tedesco (October 6, 2019). "WWE Hell in a Cell Results – 10/6/19 (Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend inside Hell in a Cell)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. ^ Anthony Benigno (October 6, 2019). "The Kabuki Warriors def. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions". WWE. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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  16. ^ Powell, Jason (November 24, 2019). "WWE Survivor Series results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio in a No Holds Barred match for the WWE Championship, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Bayley in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
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  20. ^ Powell, Jason (January 26, 2020). "WWE Royal Rumble results: Powell's live review of the Royal Rumble matches, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan in a strap match for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  21. ^ Mike Tedesco (February 10, 2020). "WWE Raw Results – 2/10/20 (Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  22. ^ Powell, Jason (April 4, 2020). "WrestleMania 36 results: Powell's live review of night one featuring Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship, Undertaker vs. AJ Styles in a Boneyard match, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler for the Raw Women's Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
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  24. ^ Mike Tedesco (April 13, 2020). "WWE Raw Results – 4/13/20 (Drew McIntyre and Becky Lynch to appear, MITB Qualifiers)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ^ Powell, Jason (May 10, 2020). "WWE Money in the Bank results: Powell's review of the Climb The Corporate Ladder MITB matches, Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship, Bayley vs. Tamina for the Smackdown Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
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  27. ^ "My time in the NXT & WWE locker rooms was incredible. Everyone was kind, funny, & talented, so every day was full of happiness. Also, I was saved by the supportive staff behind the scenes. I will forever love & respect all these professionals I had the pleasure of working with.Four leaf clover". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  28. ^ "I was able to accomplish so much in the last three years, but it wasn't because of my ability or my strength. It was because of all of the constant, warm support from the fans. I am so thankful I could meet you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kairi Sane". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  29. ^ "Report: Kairi Sane's Final WWE Date Is 7/20". Fightful. Archived from the original on 2020-07-28. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  30. ^ Powell, Jason (November 4, 2023). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight for the WWE Universal Title, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Title, Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul for the U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  31. ^ Barnett, Jake (November 10, 2023). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (11/10): Barnett's review of Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito, LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller, and Bayley addresses the future of Damage CTRL". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  32. ^ Aguilar, Matthew (2023-11-17). "WWE's Asuka Officially Joins Damage CTRL on SmackDown, Women's War Games Match Revealed". ComicBook. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  33. ^ Pulido, Luis (2023-11-25). "WWE Survivor Series (11/25/2023) Results: Two War Games Bouts, GUNTHER, Rhea Ripley, Dragon Lee, More | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
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  35. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 26, 2024). "Kabuki Warriors Win WWE Women's Tag Team Championships On 1/26 WWE SmackDown | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  36. ^ Muller, Chris (May 4, 2024). "WWE Backlash 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  37. ^ Knight, Cain A. (May 16, 2024). "Asuka says goodbye for now". Cageside Seats. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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