Sareee looks back on her persona in WWE.
While she’s currently a dominant force in Marigold, Sareee was previously presented in a school girl’s uniform and magical medallion in WWE, where she performed under the ring name of Sarray. During an interview with Jaguar Yokota, Sareee admitted that her character in WWE didn’t quite capture her vision, but rather the company’s.
“When I went to WWE in America, I didn’t want to be a villain so much as a strong wrestler,” she said (H/T to MeraWrestling for the translation). “I wanted to be seen as ‘cool’ and ‘strong,’ but instead they made me play an anime character in a sailor uniform. They told me it suited me, but I felt like, ‘That’s not me! That’s not who I am.’ But I had to do it, so I’ve had that kind of experience.'”
Sareee made her WWE NXT debut in April 2021 by defeating former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion Zoey Stark. The following year, she feuded with Tiffany Stratton, leading to a trio of matches between the two. Stratton claimed victory in their two singles matches, though Sareee later bounced back with a mixed tag win alongside Andre Chase.
Sareee’s last match under the WWE banner came in August 2022 when she lost a non-title match to then NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose. In March 2023, she left WWE and subsequently returned to Japan. There, Sareee notably became the Marigold World Champion. Elsewhere, she currently reigns as the IWGP Women’s Champion for NJPW and AAAW Tag Team Champion for Marvelous.
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