WWE: Zoey Stark¡¯s injury on Raw derailed Kairi Sane¡¯s return, here¡¯s how
Kairi Sane suffered a hand injury in December, leading to her getting written off television. She returned on the May 19 episode of WWE Raw, but got pinned on her first match. What was the real plan for the ¡®Pirate Princess¡¯?
The May 19 episode of Monday Night RAW garnered attention as the Money in the Bank qualifier triple threat match featuring Rhea Ripley, Kairi Sane, and Zoey Stark took an unexpected turn. WWE fans were eager to see the return of the ¡®Pirate Princess¡¯ Kairi Sane to the ring, but the match saw her taking the pinfall to Rhea Ripley.
This happened due to Zoey Stark suffering a knee injury midmatch, leading to Rhea and Sane improvising the finish. Zoey Stark went for a missile-kick dropkick on Kairi Sane, but landed awkwardly. This was followed by a vigorous scream from the star. Stark required immediate medical attention and was removed from the match, leaving a confused Rhea and Kairi inside the ring.
Zoey Stark injury slowed down
¡ª Phil (@Phxlly) May 20, 2025
Trigger Warning : it¡¯s definitely bad #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/aDBRe36bMc
Due to that, the match ended in a way that was not planned. Fans have been wondering if Zoey Stark was supposed to win the match (due to her consistent performances in MITB) or was she supposed to take the pinfall. Let¡¯s look at what was reportedly planned to happen in the match.
Kairi Sane¡¯s return took an unexpected turn due to Zoey Stark¡¯s injury
According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Zoey Stark and Kairi Sane were planned to do stunning spots in the match, leading to Rhea Ripley overpowering the two. However, the sudden injury led to an ¡°impromptu¡± match between Rhea and Sane. Bryan Alvarez said, ¡°The other two had to work an impromptu match since Zoey was going to be doing a bunch of spots and taking the fall, but she was not there,¡±
WELCOME BACK KAIRI SANE!
¡ª WWE (@WWE) May 20, 2025
Can she beat Rhea Ripley and Zoey Stark to qualify for the Women's #MITB Ladder Match TONIGHT? ?#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/FM3RItD7H0
He further added, ¡°So they basically just stalled out a long one-on-one match until Rhea pinned her (Kairi Sane) with the¡ Riptide.¡±
Kairi Sane returned to the ring after suffering a torn ligament in her thumb during a tag-team match against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on the December 2 episode of WWE Raw. Her return was highly anticipated by the fans, but the unexpected situation in the triple threat match led to the ¡®Pirate Princess¡¯ eating the pin from Rhea Ripley. Instead, Zoey Stark was planned to get pinned by ¡®Mami¡¯.
WWE management can still help her regain her mojo by giving her a few wins on the road. It will be interesting to see if they explore the Damage CTRL angle with Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane after the release of Dakota Kai.