Reactions to meiko Satomura's retirement

Meiko Satomura was signed to WWE in October of 2020 as both a talent and a coach for the NXT UK brand. In 2022, Meiko would make the jump to the US version of NXT, where she would challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship on several occasions. On July 25th, Tokyo Sports reported that Meiko is set to retire in 2025, with Meiko confirming the news a few days later.

The last time Meiko was on WWE television was during the NXT Roadblock special on March 7th, 2023 and NXT sources tell Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan that Meiko has not been present at an NXT taping since, nor has she been coaching at the WWE Performance Center. However, she is part of the current tour of Japan with WWE and Meiko previously competed at Fortune Dream 9, which we confirmed that ‘The Final Boss’ had asked permission to compete and remains under WWE contract.

Brennan was also told that only Meiko and higher up were aware of Meiko’s reasoning for her absence from WWE programming, however the talent in NXT we have spoken to over the past few months had stated their belief Meiko was looking to finish out her contract with WWE, with a return to television not expected by anyone we spoke to. However, we have not heard if Meiko will be used on television in WWE again before she retires from the ring and when we asked about a possible WrestleMania bout, the idea was also met with doubt

Those we spoke to in NXT were not surprised to hear of Meiko’s retirement announcement due to her lack of involvement in the brand over the past 18 months. Those we spoke to who worked with Meiko in NXT UK and later NXT had nothing but praise for the Joshi legends coaching, especially from those who were part of NXT’s UK brand. Some we spoke to NXT lamented the fact that Meiko did not have a longer run on the main brand

Sources we spoke to in Japan were of the belief that for the time being, Meiko is focused on growing her own promotion, Sendai Girls, which she founded in 2005. In her retirement announcement, Meiko stated she would be competing in Sendai Girls in the coming months. Sources also tell Brennan that Meiko’s final run will be based in Japan, with a return to the States unlikely but not impossible.

Meiko Satomura also competed in WCW between 1996 and 1997, appearing on WCW Worldwide, Pro and Nitro.