Nattie Neidhart (aka Natalya) writes a column for the Calgary Sun. Her Uncle Bret used to do the same for many years. Natalya dedicated her column this week to Kairi Sane. The former NXT Women’s Champion has now departed WWE after the most recent set of tapings.

“This week WWE said goodbye to Kairi Sane, as she is moving on to exciting new adventures in her life. I couldn’t be more proud of Kairi and all that she’s accomplished in just a few short years after leaving Japan to chase her dreams in WWE,” Natalya says in the column.

Natalya continued to write about the first time she met Kairi. It was backstage at the Mae Young Classic. Both Natalya and Beth Phoenix noted how talented she was and how much the fans responded to her.

“I remember meeting Kairi for the very first time with Beth Phoenix at the Mae Young Classic, as she stood out in such a special way to me. After watching her compete, I said to Beth, ‘Kairi is so talented in the ring. She also has a way of connecting with the audience that is so genuine and so authentic.’ Beth responded by saying, ‘The audience loves Kairi because they can feel how much heart she has and how much she loves what she does in the ring.'”

Last week on RAW, Kairi was the victim of a backstage assault by Bayley. At the time, Asuka was wrestling Sasha Banks in a RAW Women’s title match. As Asuka left the match to rescue her friend, she was counted out. This gave Banks the win and the title due to a stipulation added to the title match.

Natalya’s full column on Kairi Sane can be read here.