Report: Vince McMahon Rejected WWE Faction Of Bayley, Dakota Kai & Io Shirai

In a huge angle at WWE SummerSlam, Bayley, Io Shirai (renamed IYO SKY), and Dakota Kai all returned to WWE TV in a new faction and confronted Bianca Belair following her Raw Women's Title match against Becky Lynch. The heels looked set to attack Belair but Becky Lynch stood alongside her opponent which forced Bayley, SKY, and Kai to retreat.

Following their returns, Fightful Select reported that the faction of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and IYO SKY was put together by WWE's new creative team headed by Triple H. The faction could have debuted earlier, though, and the idea was actually pitched before Kai's WWE release in April of 2022 but Vince McMahon turned it down. The group was also pitched with Raquel Rodriguez and Kay Lee Ray (now Alba Fyre) as members in an alternate version but WWE ultimately didn't go with that idea either.

In regards to Dakota Kai's return, several within WWE thought Triple H would prioritise re-signing her following his appointment as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and head of WWE creative. Multiple companies were interested in Kai but talks with AEW did not go beyond a short introduction. Some in AEW did pitch for the promotion to sign her, though.

Io Shirai was also believed to be on her way out of WWE with her contract set to expire but WWE officials noted it appears she has re-signed with the company.