Iyo Sky is one of the most talented and decorated female wrestlers in the pro wrestling industry. She made a name for herself by competing in Japanese promotions and expanding her horizons by making her way to Mexico and USA. She made her WWE debut in 2017 and was one of the biggest stars in the NXT women's division throughout her time with the black & gold brand before making her main roster debut at SummerSlam 2022.
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She has worked with many talented wrestlers across the globe and has stacked up multiple accolades throughout her time as an in-ring performer. With that said, let's take a look at Iyo Sky's pro-wrestling career by means of pictures taken over the years.
10 Training & Debut
Iyo Sky started her pro wrestling career in 2007 when she was only 16 years old, alongside her elder sister Mio Shirai. She made her in-ring debut in March 2007 in a six-woman tag team match, in which she teamed up with her sister and Toshie Uematsu to defeat the team of Erika Ura, Nozomi Takesako & Yuri Urai.
She worked as a part-time wrestler during her early years as she was still in high school and started competing as a full-time performer alongside her sister Mio Shirai after graduating.
9 Independent Circuit
Iyo Sky continued to perform in the independent circuit alongside her sister and competed in various freelance shows and for promotions like the Japanese Women Pro Wrestling Project, Pro Wrestling Wave, Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling, and Ibuki. She teamed up with her sister Mio Shirai and was part of the Team Makehen stable, which comprised wrestlers trained by Tomohiko Hashimoto. She was also part of the Triple Tails faction alongside Mio Shirai and Asuka.
During this time, Iyo Sky won Pro Wrestling Wave's TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Championship with her sister. They held the title for an impressive 238 days before dropping it to Misaki Ohata and Moeka Haruhi in December 2009.
8 Mexican Promotions
Iyo Sky traveled to Mexico in 2010 and trained in a local wrestling school to improve her skills. She then started working under the name Biba Kasai and made her debut for the International Wrestling Revolution Group in October 2010. She made her debut for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide in October 2010 under the name Oyuki and continued to compete for the promotion until the following month.
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Following her final AAA World Wide appearance, she returned to Mexico in May 2011 and started working as Io Shirai in various freelance events and for promotions like Legend Promociones and Federacion Universal De Lucha Libre.
7 World Wonder Ring Stardom
Iyo Sky debuted for World Wonder Ring Stardom in August 2011 and made it her home promotion, where she worked until mid-2018. During her time in the company, she went on to become a 6-time Artist of Stardom Champion, a 2-time Wonder Of Stardom, and World Of Stardom Champion.
She also held the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship with Mayu Iwatani and is a 1-time SWA Undisputed World Women's Champion and High-Speed Champion. She wrestled her final match for the promotion in June 2018 before making her way to WWE.
6 Signing With WWE & Mae Young Classic
After WWE offered Iyo Sky a contract in October 2016, she participated in a tryout at the Performance Center in March 2017. She accepted WWE's offer in May 2017, but she didn't make her debut after WWE rescinded the offer after Sky sustained a neck injury and after learning about her heart condition.
However, she signed with WWE in June 2018 and made her debut as a contestant in the second Mae Young Classic tournament. She defeated Xia Brookside, Zeuxis, and Deonna Purrazzo in the initial rounds before defeating Rhea Ripley in the semi-final but lost to Toni Storm in the final at the 2018 Evolution PPV.
5 NXT Debut
Iyo Sky made her official NXT debut at the 2018 NXT TakeOver: WarGames event, where she and Dakota Kai saved Kairi Sane from Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir during Sane's NXT Women's title match against Shayna Baszler.
She made her televised in-ring debut for NXT on the December 19, 2018, episode, in which she teamed up with Dakota Kai to defeat Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. The win led her to compete in an NXT Women's title No.1 contender's fatal-four-way match but didn't walk away with the victory as Bianca Belair won the bout.
4 Heel Turn
Iyo Sky formed a tag team with Kairi Sane and continued to appear together until the latter got called up to the main roster. Following that, she feuded with Shayna Baszler over the NXT Women's title but couldn't capture the title. The storyline led to her turning heel and feuding with Candice LeRae, which culminated at NXT TakeOver: Toronto in August 2019, where Sky defeated LeRae by submission.
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She then took part in the first-ever women's WarGames match and represented NXT in the 2019 Survivor Series PPV. However, her heel run came to an end after sustaining an injury during a match against Toni Storm in January 2020.
3 NXT Women's Champion
Following her return in March 2020, Iyo Sky entered the NXT Women's title picture by winning a no.1 contender's ladder match to get the opportunity to face Charlotte Flair for the title. However, her title match ended in a disqualification after Flair attacked her with a kendo stick. Sky then continued to feud with Charlotte Flair, with Rhea Ripley also entering the mix, which led to a match between the three at the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event in June 2020.
Sky defeated Flair and Ripley at the event to capture the NXT Women's title. She also picked up a high-profile victory over Sasha Banks and successfully defended the NXT Women's title against the likes of Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Rhea Ripley, Mercedes Martinez, and Toni Storm before dropping it to Raquel Gonzalez after holding the title for 304 days.
2 NXT Women's Tag Team Champion
After losing the NXT Women's Championship, Iyo Sky formed a tag team with Zoey Stark, and the two superstars became the no.1 contenders for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship.
At the 2021 NXT: The Great American Bash, Sky and Stark defeated Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell to win the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. They held the title for 111 days and defended it against the likes of Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter before dropping it to Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction at the 2021 NXT Halloween Havoc event.
1 Main Roster Call Up
Iyo Sky's final days in NXT saw her win the 2022 Women's 2022 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament alongside Kay Lee Ray. She then feuded with Mandy Rose's Toxic Attraction stable and unsuccessfully challenged Rose for the NXT Women's title in a fatal-four-way match at Stand & Deliver 2022, which was her final appearance for NXT as she sustained an injury.
While reports of her leaving WWE as her contract was set to expire, Iyo Sky made her surprise main roster debut alongside Dakota Kai at the 2022 SummerSlam PPV, where they aligned with Bayley to form a heel faction. She made her Raw debut the following night with Dakota Kai, and they are now involved in the vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship picture.
