Sareee Says Her Time In WWE Was The Most Difficult Of Her Career

Sareee recently reflected on her run in WWE, citing it as the most difficult period of her wrestling career. The Joshi star signed with WWE in 2020 and competed on NXT as Sarray. Her time in the company was marked by a delay in debuting due to COVID lockdowns, and she find herself waylaid when the brand transitioned to the NXT 2.0 era. When she returned to TV, she was playing an anime-like schoolgirl character that never took off and she exited the company in March of 2023.

Sareee has returned to Japan and presented a number of her own shows. She is also signed to Sukeban under a multi-year deal. She spoke with Tokyo Sports for a new interview and you can see highlights below:

On Her Time In WWE:
“That was the most difficult period of my pro-wrestling career. With so many people on the WWE roster, it was hard enough just to get picked for matches, and on top of that, it coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, so I couldn’t compete as much as I wanted to.

“In the midst of that, I was assigned a high school girl character. I went with the intention of bringing strong women’s professional wrestling from Japan, but it was painful because what was required in reality was different. I became so stressed that I loved sweets, and after lunch, I ate an American-sized parfait and then flattened a big Häagen-Dazs and my face was covered in acne. Still, I did my best in my heart. Looking back now, it’s all become experience that has nourished me, so not a single moment was wasted.”

On Questioning If She Should Return to Japan:

“Honestly, I did wonder if it was okay to return to Japan without having achieved anything in the U.S. But when I thought about what I really wanted to do, I realized I should be doing the kind of pro-wrestling I believe in to the fullest within the limited time I have. I’ve been striving to become the strongest in the Japanese women’s pro-wrestling scene, which is where it all began for me.”