The Stunning Evolution Of WWE Star IYO SKY

"The Genius of The Skies" IYO SKY has captured the hearts of many WWE fans since her rise in the company, which began during the 2018 Mae Young Classic and her match at WWE's historic Evolution premium live event, when she was still known as Io Shirai. SKY may not have won the tournament, but she won the attention of many in America after working her way up to the top of the Japanese wrestling scene while she was still just a teenager.

SKY has found massive success in WWE, from first being known for her dramatic stunts involving trash cans in WarGames matches to her debut on the main roster alongside Damage CTRL at SummerSlam, to now being a two-time Women's World Champion who has also held tag team gold multiple times. In her successful title defense at WrestleMania 41, SKY, alongside Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley, had the only five-star match of the weekend, as rated by Dave Meltzer.

To get to the opening match of Night 2 of WrestleMania, however, SKY had to crawl her way up through the independent scene of Japan to make it to the country's top promotions, including Stardom, where she became one of the most decorated champions in history. Everything almost came crashing down around her at one point, however, due to a dramatic incident in which SKY was framed for drug smuggling. 

After a rough period, in which SKY considered retirement, she jumped right back into the ring after being cleared and began her takeover of the professional wrestling world. From Japan, to honing her skills in Mexico, to now "WWE Raw," the former Shirai has gone through a stunning evolution.

SKY didn't break into the professional wrestling sphere alone. She debuted alongside her sister, Mio Shirai, in March 2007 when SKY was just 16 years old. She started in the business while she was still in high school and started working as a professional wrestler full time when she graduated. The Shirai sisters started their official careers representing Team Makehen, a stable made up of talent trained by Tomohiko Hashimoto. The sisters worked for various independent promotions their first year on the scene, including Pro Wrestling Wave and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling.

The Shirai sisters made their debut as a tag team for All Japan Pro Wrestling, the largest promotion they had wrestled in thus far, in October 2008. The worked for other promotions as well, including Pro Wrestling Zero1. Their first championship victory came in April 2009 when they defeated Moeka Haruhi and Tomoka Nakagawa to become the first World Young Women's Tag Team Champions in Totally Lethal Wrestling.

SKY and her sister formed a stable, known as Triple Tails, in June 2010 with another freelance wrestler known as Kana. The worked across the independent scene in Pro Wrestling Wave, Smash, and more. They even produced their own event in February 2011, where the Shirai sisters wrestled an intergender match against Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada.

After competing in tournaments across Japan, SKY, Mio Shirai, and Kana held a press conference in July 2011 that after their next self-produced event that September, SKY would be leaving Triple Tails to start a singles career. The won their last few appearances, including their final six-woman tag match against Ryo Mizunami, Sendai Sachiko, and Dash Chisako.

The future "Genius of the Skies" would begin honing her high-flying skills when she traveled to Mexico to train further in 2010. SKY would work in Mexico from 2010-2012, and then again in 2014 and 2015 following the aforementioned drug controversy. In October 2010, she debuted for International Wrestling Revolution Group in a six-woman tag team where she worked under the ring name Viva Kasai. SKY worked under a cat-like mask that she and her sister would wear for their entrances in Japan.

SKY worked with her sister in AAA and became part of La Legion Extranjera for a short time. SKY even put her hair on the line in a hair versus mask four-way intergender elimination match in Wrestling All-Star Pros, where she unmasked La Malefica. While she was competing in Mexico, she also made her debut in World Wonder Ring Stardom in August 2011. She initially teamed with Nanae Takahashi and also challenged for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She entered her first Goddesses of Stardom Tag League alongside Takahashi that October.

She officially made Stardom her home promotion during her own independent event celebrating her fifth year in the business. She teamed with Dark Angel in a victory that night. Her final match in Stardom, at least for awhile, would be a six-woman tag team tournament match loss in April 2012 alongside Arisa Hoshiki and Natsumi Showzuki.

SKY's growing success almost came crashing down around her before she even appeared in front of American audiences or achieved greatness in Stardom due to an incident in which she and her boyfriend at the time, Nosawa Rongai, were framed for smuggling drugs into Japan. The country has strict laws regarding marijuana usage and those caught possessing cannabis could face time in prison. In May 2012, SKY and Rongai were stopped and arrested at the Narita International Airport following a trip to Mexico, and both were accused of smuggling marijuana into Japan.

Customs officers discovered 75 grams of marijuana, worth around $5,000, hidden in paintings given to Nosawa and SKY by who they presumed were fans at the Lucha expo they had just attended. The couple had no idea drugs were hidden in the artwork. SKY was held in a Japanese detention center for weeks and held a press conference upon her release where she stated she was innocent, but apologized to everyone for getting into trouble. SKY said she didn't want to retire and wanted to regain the fans' trust, but many expected her to have to leave the profession and figured she would be fired from Stardom.

However, just days later, another wrestler named Takuya Sugi confessed in his own press conference that he planted the drugs on SKY and Rongai. Sugi said he did it hoping to get a contract extension from AAA, as promised to him by another wrestler who booked Japanese talent in the promotion. The promoter hated SKY's boyfriend and asked Sugi to plant the drugs. Sugi was blacklisted from the Japense wrestling scene for years after his confession, but SKY's name was cleared and she returned to Stardom shortly after.

Following the drug arrest and clearing of her name, SKY made her in-ring return to Stardom in July 2012 in the Stardom Rumble, where she qualified for her first 5Star Grand Prix. She suffered a series of losses, both in the tournament, as well as in that year's Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. Her rise in Stardom really began in March 2013 when she defeated Kaori Yoneyama, then Dark Angel to become the No. 1 contender for the World of Stardom Championship. SKY defeated Alpha Female that April to win her first Stardom title. After a slew of successful defenses, including some involving other champions that ended in time limit draws, SKY was named Stardom's MVP of 2013.

SKY announced she'd be taking challengers from all over the world for her World of Stardom Championship just after crossing the one-year mark of her reign. In May 2014, she became a double champion when she defeated Natsuki Taiyo for the High Speed Championship. Her reign with the World of Stardom title ended at 468 days when she was defeated by Yoshiko in August 2014.

She would go on to win the 5-Star GP in September, defeating Yoshiko in the final, and became a double-champion again when she won the Artist of Stardom Championship alongside Mayu Iwatani, her partner in their team known as Thunder Rock, and Takumi Iroha. Her victories kept coming and she picked up the Goddesses of Stardom Championship alongside Iwatani in May, then defeated Nikki Storm to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. SKY became the first wrestler to hold all five of the promotion's titles. In December 2015, SKY also became the first two-time World of Stardom Champion.

Following her second World of Stardom title win, SKY began to travel more around the world and competed in events held by Lucha Underground, Vendetta Pro Wrestling, and also took part in a European Tour, where she became the inaugural Stardom World Association World Champion. In November 2016, SKY formed a faction with HZK and Momo Watanabe the women called "Queen's Quest." They captured the Artist of Stardom Championships at the beginning of 2017. Azumi was also added to the group as AZM. The following month, SKY broke her own record for number of successful title defense when she defeated Shayna Baszler.

SKY lost the World of Stardom Championship in June 2016 to Mayu Iwatani before going on hiatus to rehabilitate a neck injury, one she suffered taking a piledriver from Toni Storm during their championship match earlier in the year. She would return to action in July 2017 to compete alongside Queen's Quest and regain the Artist of Stardom Championships.

That November, SKY regained the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the second time, though she'd lose it in May to Watanabe. Shortly after, SKY announced her departure from the promotion. Her last match came on June 10, where she competed in a 10-match, one-minute time limit series against the rest of the roster. 

By the time her run with Stardom was finished, SKY had held a total of four singles titles over six different reigns from 2011 to 2018, including both the World of Stardom Championship and the Wonder of Stardom Championship twice. She also held the Artist of Stardom title six total times with a variety of other talent.

SKY's signing with WWE didn't exactly go smoothly after it was first reported by Dave Meltzer in the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" in October 2016 that she would be offered a WWE contract. SKY participated in a tryout at the Performance Center in March 2017. The tryout was never supposed to be made public, but WWE ended up accidentally featuring SKY on its official website in an article that was removed shortly after it was posted. SKY confirmed herself she had been offered a deal, but WWE reportedly rescinded the contract offer, according to Meltzer, due to SKY's lingering neck issue and the company not wanting to bring in any new talent with any lingering neck or concussion issues.

Despite Japanese doctors clearing her, WWE doctors suggested passing on signing SKY. However, in a quick turn of events just six months later, in May 2018, SKY announced she'd be leaving Stardom right after Tokyo Sports reported she was back in discussions with WWE. SKY appeared for the first time in WWE during a June 2018 house show in Tokyo, where it was officially confirmed she had signed and would be appearing on "WWE NXT." SKY was confirmed for the 2018 Mae Young Classic on the brand.

She defeated Xia Brookside in her first-ever WWE match in August to kick off the tournament, then toppled Zeuxis, Deonna Purrazzo, and Rhea Ripley in the weeks that followed to earn her spot in the finals at WWE's first-ever all women's premium live event, Evolution. She was defeated by Storm at the show, but her time in "NXT" was just getting started.

SKY debuted officially for "NXT" in November 2018 when she and Dakota Kai saved Kairi Sane from an attack during TakeOver: WarGames. Her debut match on the brand came the following month when she and Kai defeated Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. SKY also officially aligned with Sane, creating their Sky Pirates tag team. 

After multiple attempts to capture the gold, most while feuding with Duke, Shafir, and Shayna Baszler, SKY turned heel in June 2019 and adopted a slightly darker look. She eventually joined Baszler's team for the first-ever women's WarGames match in November. SKY also competed on Team "NXT" in the first-ever Survivor Series match involving the woman of the developmental brand.

Following a short time off television due to injury, SKY won her first NXT Women's Championship when she defeated Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley at TakeOver: In Your House in June 2020. She'd defend the gold against the likes of Candice LeRae, Ripley, Mercedes Martinez, and more. Her championship reign ended at 304 days when she dropped the title to Raquel Gonzalez (now Rodriguez in WWE) at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April 2021.

After losing her title, SKY began teaming with Zoey Stark and the pair defeated LeRae and Indi Hartwell to capture the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships at the Great American Back in July. After losing the titles at Halloween Havoc, SKY entered the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside Kay Lee Ray. The team defeated Kai and Wendy Choo in the final.

Instead of challenging for tag gold, SKY and Ray challenged Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's title at Stand & Deliver 2022 in a fatal four-way match involving Cora Jade. SKY failed to win the gold at the WrestleMania weekend event in what would end up being her final match in "NXT."

SKY officially made the name change from Io Shirai to IYO SKY when she debuted on the main roster alongside Bayley and Dakota Kai at SummerSlam in July 2022. The new faction confronted then-Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair and would go on to feud with "The EST," Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka, the latter of whom would eventually join the group. SKY's first main-roster match was a no-contest, thanks to interference, against Belair.

The group officially became known as Damage CNTRL at Clash at the Castle in September. SKY and Kai would go on to win the Women's Tag Team Championships that month when they defeated Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez on an episode of "Raw." The lost the gold after just 48 days to Asuka and Alexa Bliss, but quickly won them back in historic fashion at November's Crown Jewel, which marked the first time a women's title had changed hands in Saudi Arabia. Kai and SKY lost the gold to Lynch and Lita on a February 2023 episode of "Raw."

SKY's singles run in WWE began when she won the Money in the Bank ladder match in July 2023 following Damage CTRL's move to "WWE SmackDown" in that year's draft. The ladder match was the first time dissension was teased in the faction, as Bayley attempted to stop SKY from grabbing the briefcase. SKY handcuffed Bayley to Lynch during the match and ascended the ladder to grab the guaranteed title shot whenever, wherever.

SKY had her second big SummerSlam on the main roster when she successfully cashed in on Belair for the WWE Women's Championship following a triple threat match involving "The EST," Flair, and Asuka. She successfully defended her title multiple times throughout the rest of the year. Damage CTRL lost to Belair, Flair, Lynch, and Shotzi in a WarGames match in November, despite SKY's high-flying antics where she'd arm herself inside a trash can and jump from the cage.

When Bayley won the 2024 Royal Rumble, SKY, who was still holding the title at the time, and Damage CTRL turned on her, kicking Bayley out of the stable she formed herself. Bayley would go on to defeat SKY to win the title at WrestleMania 40. Following her championship loss, SKY would go on to compete in the Queen of the Ring tournament and Money in the Bank match that year. She and Sane would also challenge for the Women's Tag Team Championships. "The Genius of the Skies" would get another shot at gold that ended in a surprising victory when she defeated Ripley on the March 3, 2025 episode of "Raw."

SKY and Ripley would go on to have one of the best matches at WrestleMania 41 in a triple threat with Belair, in which SKY retained the title. She notably didn't defend the gold again until Evolution 2, almost three months later, once again against Ripley. Both women were defeated by Naomi, who successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to become the new Women's World Champion in an impromptu triple-threat.