Janai Kai may have quietly locked down a deal with AEW. After making regular appearances across Ring of Honor, new information indicates the former MLW Women’s World Featherweight Champion is now under contract with the company.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp spoke with AEW sources who claimed Kai is under contract, although the exact nature of the agreement remains unclear. It has not been confirmed whether Kai signed a full-time contract or is working under a per-appearance arrangement.
Kai has become a familiar face on ROH programming since May 2026, stepping into the ring with several of the promotion’s biggest names, including Athena, Deonna Purrazzo, Mina Shirakawa, Billie Starkz, Maya World and Queen Aminata. Her history with Ring of Honor goes back even further, as Kai also competed for the original version of ROH in 2021 before the promotion was purchased by Tony Khan.
Kai later spent more than a year and a half with MLW, where she captured the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Championship and became the longest-reigning champion in the title’s history. AEW fans may also remember Kai from appearances in 2021 and 2022, where she faced names including Jade Cargill and Athena.
Kai has been showing up consistently enough in ROH that a contract would hardly come out of nowhere, but the biggest question now is exactly what kind of deal AEW has with her and whether that will eventually lead to a larger role on Dynamite or Collision.
What do you think AEW should do with Janai Kai now that she appears to be under contract? Let us know in the comments.
