Report: Reason Io Shirai Re-Signed With WWE Revealed

After reportedly being ‘close to exiting WWE’, Io Shirai surprisingly returned at SummerSlam 2022, making her main roster debut alongside Bayley and the re-signed Dakota Kai.

Now dubbed Iyo Sky, Dave Meltzer writing in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Sky re-signed with WWE on the proviso that she would receive a main roster deal, with the belief being that she would exit the company altogether if she didn’t receive one.

Sky’s return was very last minute, as a report from PWInsider revealed that WWE filed trademark’s for the Iyo Sky name on July 31 - the day after SummerSlam - when usually such trademark filings are made well in advance of any name change or main roster debut.

Not only was Sky’s return last minute, the idea that Bayley would head-up a faction of herself, Sky, and Kai was also reportedly a last-minute decision, due to Sky’s late re-signing, the quick re-acquisition of Dakota Kai, and that before the WWE ‘regime change’ there were no concrete plans for Bayley to actually appear on the PPV.