8 Interesting Facts About Io Shirai
From Genius of the Sky to Joshi Judas, Io Shirai has led quite the life in and out of the ring.
Io Shirai is back!
Since returning from injury the Genius of the Sky has been launched straight back to the top of the women's division in NXT, picking up the win in last week's excellent ladder match to become the first in line to face Charlotte for the women's championship.
It's easy to see why WWE would want to keep Shirai's momentum going - last year she picked up four match of the year nominations in the annual NXT awards, the most of any superstar on the roster. Shirai is one of the premier talents in professional wrestling, and her upcoming match with Charlotte is undoubtedly the most exciting development to occur on any of the post-'Mania shows.
Given Shirai's rise to prominence, and with her turning 30 next month, this feels like an appropriate time to take a look back at the life of the Joshi Judas. Io has packed a lot into her first thirty years, from winning accolades to recovering from some major, career-threatening setbacks, and this list will take a look at the most interesting developments in her life and career so far.
8. She Began Her Wrestling Career With Her Sister
It's easy to see why many wrestlers spend their formative years as part of a tag-team (Chris Jericho/Lance Storm, Sting/Ultimate Warrior, Mick Foley/jobber of the week). It allows inexperienced talent valuable ring-time while halving their responsibility and, if the partnership takes off, grants each wrestler a valuable ally in the cut-throat world of pro wrestling.
Fortunately for Io Shirai, she had a ready-made partner to start her life as a pro wrestler with - her older sister, Mio.
Io and Mio Shirai began their pro wrestling careers in 2007 at the tender ages of 16 and 19 respectively, and would wrestle almost exclusively as a tag team for the remainder of the noughties, with Io herself not competing in her first singles match until 2009.
(As an aside, the elder Shirai sister would unfortunately be forced into premature retirement in 2015 with neck problems but, in an impressive commitment to kayfabe, still hasn't revealed her real name to the general public. Jim Cornette would be proud).