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WWE officially announced that they have signed 33 year old Kanako Urai, professionally known as KANA, several minutes ago in Japan.
Urai debuted in June 2004 and has wrestled for every major women's wrestling promotion in Japan (not to mention promoting her own shows) as well as SHIMMER and CHIKARA in the United States.
Based on the official WWE press release, she will retain her current ring name, at least at first, similar to how KENTA retained his before morphing into Hideo Itami in NXT.
WWE's official press release reads:
WWE® ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF KANA
STAMFORD, Conn., September 8, 2015 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) announced today the signing of international superstar Kanako Urai, aka Kana, to the NXT® division. Kana will officially report to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida in late September.
Over the course of her 11-year career, Kana has become one of the most exciting women ever to compete in Japan. She has appeared in many organizations throughout the country and has held multiple championships. Last month, Kana made a surprise appearance at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, sitting in the audience ringside next to WWE Hall of Famer “Nature Boy†Ric Flair®.
“We are very excited to have Kana join the NXT roster,†said Paul Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Creative and Live Events. “Her exciting in-ring style will make an immediate impact on the already impressive NXT women’s division.â€
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