During WWE‘s tour of Japan, one of the country’s biggest wrestling stars made an appearance in-ring. At an NXT Live Event, Io Shirai – formerly of Stardom – entered a WWE ring for the first time. This fuels the heavily rumored entry of Shirai into this years Mae Young Classic as well as a run in the black and yellow brand.
Fan’s took several pictures of the former World of Stardom Champion at the event:
@shirai_io がWWE参戦!!! #WWETokyo pic.twitter.com/iad9mzmviL
— KAiRI (@kairi_neco) June 30, 2018
やっぱり有ったサプライズ！紫雷イオ、NXT入団発表！ #紫雷イオ #WWETokyo #NXT pic.twitter.com/rDBGefypqq
— やす (@yasu1600rekishi) June 30, 2018
Shirai tweeted a picture of her new mask featuring the WWE logo after the event. In English, the caption reads: “A New Step.”
新たな一歩。 pic.twitter.com/AKJTHF1fqo
— IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) June 30, 2018
The ‘Genius of the Sky’ has been in and out of talks with WWE since 2016. She was initially scheduled to join for the inaugural Mae Young Classic alongside Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane in WWE). Unfortunately, injuries and health issues kept Shirai out and the contract she had been offered was reportedly rescinded.
On May 28 this year, Tokyo Sports announced that Shirai was once again in talks with WWE. The following day, she announced that she was leaving Stardom. It does not take a genius – of the sky or the ground – to figure out how these talks went.
Now that Shirai has shown her face in an NXT ring, her move to the “major leagues” seems to finally be complete. Expect to see her appear again when this year’s Mae Young Classic rolls around in August.
Are you excited to see Io Shirai join WWE? Do you think she will win this year’s Mae Young Classic? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter here. You can also join us on Discord to chat with Oli, Luke, the magazine team, the website writers and each other here!
6 years ago by Wrestle Talk
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