WWE: Kairi Sane Reportedly Added to Internal Roster, FOX CEO on Not Keeping SmackDown Deal, Liv Morgan Injury Update

Kairi Sane Reportedly Recently Added to WWE’s Internal Roster

Stardom talent KAIRI, former Kairi Sane in WWE, finished up her commitments with the company this past October. KAIRI was believed to have signed a new contract with WWE this past August for a potential return to the company as early as this month.

WrestleVotes reported that their sources stated that WWE officials added Sane’s name back to their interval roster list on Thursday. It was also reported that Sane’s official return to the company is currently expected to be imminent.

After what feels like months of speculation, I’m told Kairi Sane has reappeared on the internal talent roster. Her return to the company is imminent.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) November 2, 2023

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FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Reason Why FOX Did Not Renewal TV Deal for WWE’s SmackDown

As noted before, TKO Group announced this past September that WWE had signed a new television contract with NBC Universal for the return of their SmackDown series to USA Network in 2024.

FOX held an earnings call on Thursday to discuss the results from their fiscal first quarter 2024 report. One of the topics discussed included FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch revealing the reasons why FOX did not renew their television deal with WWE for SmackDown.

“How we analyze the WWE renewal, we look at all of our sports portfolios the same way and all new rights the same way. On the basis of analysis, on both advertising point of view, we weren’t hitting advertising numbers due to the audience of WWE for our return on investment to be above the level we would accept. Also, we didn’t attribute enough retransmission revenue to WWE either. It made sense for us to move on from that. They’ve been a great partner for many years, but quite simply, we’re very disciplined, and the ROI didn’t meet our discipline parameters. We wish them luck and we’ve moved on from them.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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Liv Morgan Injury Status Update

As noted before, Liv Morgan has been out of action for WWE since this past July due to a right shoulder injury.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that one WWE source spoken to stated that Morgan is still recovering from her shoulder injury. This same source reportedly also stated that Morgan likely will be heading back to Birmingham, Alabama some time this month for a new medical evaluation.

Johnson reported that WWE officials currently do not have a timetable for Morgan’s return from injury.