8 Interesting Facts About Io Shirai
5. WWE Initially Passed On Signing Her
Io was originally supposed to debut alongside fellow Japanese superstar Kairi Sane in the first Mae Young Classic back in 2017, but a poor result in her WWE medical exam changed everything.
As WhatCulture reported at the time, WWE raised concerns over Shirai's history of neck injuries. Likely fearful of the potential backlash should another prominent wrestler be forced into early retirement on their watch, WWE passed on the opportunity to sign her and Shirai went back to Japan for another year.
This must have been a huge disappointment for Shrai, but after another award-winning year in Japan she re-applied to the WWE and passed the medical exam at the second time of asking. Given how well-received she has been by the NXT faithful, Io and the WWE must both feel vindicated by the latter's decision to sign her.