Former WWE champion is retiring; last match announced

A veteran WWE star's retirement match has been officially announced for later this week in what is sure to be an emotional ending to an illustrious career. The legendary Meiko Satomura is set to have her final match on April 29 in her home country of Japan.

Satomura is one of the most decorated female performers in wrestling history, who has taken her talents across the globe. More than two decades after debuting, Meiko Satomura finally joined WWE in 2020. Within a few months, she became the NXT UK Women's Champion, a title which she held for a staggering 451 days.

Satomura has made only sporadic appearances in in the company since then, with her last televised match going down at NXT Roadblock 2023. She embarked upon a retirement tour earlier this year, and now her final match has officially been confirmed to go down on April 29th at the iconic Korakuen Hall.

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Meiko Satomura will team up with the up-and-coming star Manami to take on Kong and Chihiro Hashimoto in her retirement match later this week. There's no doubt that the upcoming contest would be an emotional affair for her legion of fans.

Meiko Satomura competed in a couple of WWE matches last year

The 45-year-old star seems to have quietly received her WWE farewell during the global juggernaut's Japan tour in July last year. Satomura competed in a couple of matches at live events, which served as her final hurrah in the company.

She first teamed up with Bayley, Bianca Belair, and Jade Cargill to defeat Damage CTRL and Tiffany Stratton. On the very next day, Meiko Satomura challenged the then-WWE Women's Champion Bayley but fell short of winning. Since then, the veteran performer has been busy competing for various promotions in Japan.

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Though she's quitting as an in-ring performer, it remains to be seen if Satomura chooses to be involved in the wrestling business in some other capacity. Her years of experience could come in handy if she decides to pursue a coaching role.

About the author

Arpit Shrivastava is a journalist who reports on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda. He is also an assistant content manager for the AEW team and has played a pivotal role in building it from the ground up. Arpit graduated in Political Science and Mass Communication. From writing for his college magazine while being a huge wrestling fan to pursuing journalism as a career, he has accumulated five years of experience in the industry.

During the course of his career, Arpit has written nearly 4k articles, garnering over 32 million reads. Besides covering the latest stories in the world of pro wrestling, Arpit mentors several up-and-coming writers and is also responsible for assembling a stellar team for Sportskeeda's All Elite Wrestling division. Arpit gives utmost importance to fact-based reporting as he sources information only from reliable outlets. He believes in providing relevant information to readers, allowing them to form their opinions based on legitimate facts.

Among Arpit's favorite wrestlers is MJF. He admires The Wolf of Wrestling for his cool, anti-authoritative attitude on television. Arpit is also fond of Sami Zayn's never-say-die approach and underdog persona. In the women's division, he looks up to Becky Lynch for her sheer aura.

Outside of pro wrestling, Arpit is a massive history and cinema buff. He spends his leisure time reading and following tennis and cricket.

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Edited by Arpit Shrivastava