AJ Styles Says Kairi Sane’s WWE Release Caught Him Off Guard and She Was Doing Her Best Work

AJ Styles has added his voice to the growing chorus of shock surrounding Kairi Sane’s post-WrestleMania 42 WWE release, revealing on his Phenomenally Retro podcast that the news genuinely surprised him given how well he felt she had been performing in her current run with the company.

“We don’t know exactly what the case is. That one caught me off guard as well because it was a great tag team thing. I feel like Kairi is doing her best work as of now. I wish I had answers. I don’t have these answers for you guys. I don’t know what this means for her. Is she going to go back to Stardom? What’s next for Kairi Sane? But I know that she was loved and she was amazing. Yeah, I just hate that,” Styles said.

He also addressed the belief — reported by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter — that WWE‘s internal thinking about Sane wanting to return to Japan at some point factored into the release decision. Styles drew on her previous departure to make the point feel grounded. “I will say this: the first time that she left, she went home to Japan. And I don’t know if that had anything to do with this. I doubt it was her choice because I felt like she was really rolling well. But I don’t know. I’m just saying that she went back to Japan last time that she left. I think she wanted to go home. So I get it — given the opportunity, living in another country, I’d always want to go home myself.”

Kairi Sane Has Pushed Back on Reports Suggesting She Requested Her Own WWE Release

Sane herself has posted to social media clarifying that she did not “walk away” from WWE — pushing back on any narrative suggesting the release was at her request. The combination of an active storyline being abandoned without resolution, genuine internal shock within WWE per Fightful Select, Styles’ public surprise, and Sane’s own denial paints a consistent picture of a release that caught nearly everyone off guard.