Various: Janai Kai Announces Departure from MLW, Dave Bautista on “Hollywood is a ‘Cakewalk’ Compared to Grind of Pro Wrestling”, Indies/Misc.

May 20, 2025

Janai Kai Announces Her Departure from MLW

Major League Wrestling talent Janai Kai announced on Monday on Twitter that she recently departed the company and is currently a free agent.

aka FREE AGENT 👹🙏 https://t.co/EBQS0qbL9T
— JANAI KAI 🇩🇴🇵🇷 | ジャナイ・カイ (@Janai_Kai) May 19, 2025

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reported that his sources stated that Kai’s departure is due to her contract will be expiring and was not renewed. Sapp reported that those spoken to stated that more talents are currently expected to be departing from MLW in the coming weeks.

Prior to her announcement, Kai had been working for MLW since October of 2023.

Dave Bautista Comments on “Hollywood is a ‘Cakewalk’ Compared to Grind of Pro Wrestling”

Film Inside held a recent interview with former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista. One of the topics discussed included Bautista’s thoughts about how his Hollywood career is a “cakewalk” compared to the grind of his pro wrestling career.

“More than anything, I have a strong work ethic — and my work ethic really came from the WWE. WWE, if nothing else, they’re not only durable people but it’s just the hardest grind that I could ever imagine. Being in Hollywood and being on a film set, it’s long hours, but compared to the grind of being a professional wrestler, it’s just a cakewalk. It’s night and day. I’m in this business and I find it hard to relate to people who are just always unhappy on set and always complaining about something. I don’t relate to that at all.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

WrestleCon recently announced that Matt Cardona and WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather will be making an appearance at their WrestleCon Destination Newark event on August 1-2 in Newark, New Jersey.

TNA Wrestling is currently offering a free month of their TNA+ streaming service with the code of “SIEGE25” on their official website.

House of Glory recently announced that Karissa Rivera, former Elektra Lopez in WWE, will be making her official debut appearance in the company at their Mike Santana Presents Puerto Rican Weekend 2025 event on June 7th in New York City, New York.

Backrow Studios and producer Rob Van Dam recently released the debut teaser trailer for their upcoming new wrestling documentary titled Sabu. This upcoming film was stated to be “a poignant exploration of life’s trials and triumphs, wrestling legend Sabu embarks on a heartfelt journey for one final match, uncovering the scars of his past and the passion that shaped his career while navigating the complexities of fame, friendships, and the remnants of a legendary era.”

GLEAT recently announced that Cru (Lio Rush & Action Andretti) will be making an appearance for the company at their June 1st event in Tokyo, Japan.

In a recent interview with The Insiders w/ Conrad Thompson podcast, former AEW, WWE, and WCW seamstress Sandra Gray gave her thoughts about how Marc Mero and Sable helped get her started in making wrestling gear. Gray stated “Rena Mero, she went to the local fabric store looking for someone to make her then-boyfriend, Johnny B Badd [aka Marc Mero] an outfit. There were two people who always did stuff that the fabric people referred people to. It was another lady and myself. [Rena], not knowing either one of us, she naturally called the first person, and she said, ‘I can’t do it. It’s the middle of prom season and I’m super busy.’ It was prom season for me as well, and I was busy, so when she asked me, I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but I don’t know how to do spandex. I’ve never made spandex in my life and I’m not familiar with it.’ She said, ‘He’s kind of in a bind right now, we really need something, can you please try it?’ I said yes. I believe she gave me an old pair of trunks to go by and I made them, but boy, did I struggle. I got through, but it was a struggle. The night he was supposed to wear it, my whole family came to my house to see my work on TV. It was so exciting. There was a particular side of his trunks where I had so much trouble. I had no idea you sew a straight stitch and then stretch the fabric. I didn’t know that. That night, we’re all watching and so excited. I can’t wait until he comes down with my gear on. Sure enough, whoever his match was with, they grabbed him on the side and everybody stood up and screamed, ‘put him down! It’s going to break!’ It didn’t break and his match went on just fine. After, he called me and thanked me for helping him through the situation. People asked where he got the gear from, and he said that I made it. Eventually, people from WCW started to come to me and get gear.” (Transcript h/t: Fightful.com)

This past Sunday’s Champion Carnival 2025 event for All Japan Pro Wrestling featured Rei Saito defeating Kento Miyahara in the Finals to become the winner of this year’s Champion Carnival tournament.

AJPW recently announced one new match for the card of their Super Power Series 2025 event on June 1st in Sendai, Japan: