is a Japanese
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
currently signed to
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
, where she performs on the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...
under the
ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of
Damage CTRL
Damage Control (stylized as Damage CTRL) is a villainous professional wrestling stable composed of leader Bayley, Dakota Kai, & Iyo Sky currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. Kai and Sky are the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions ...
and one-half of the current
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...
with fellow stablemate
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...
in their second reign. She previously wrestled in WWE's
developmental brand
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
under the ring name ( ), where she was a former
NXT Women's Champion
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...
and
NXT Women's Tag Team Champion
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current ch ...
.
She is also known for her time in
World Wonder Ring Stardom
World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム 女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...
(Stardom), where she was a former two-time
Wonder of Stardom Champion
The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which in Stardom's championship hierarchy is situated as the secondary title behind the World of Stardom Championship, was introduc ...
, six-time
Artist of Stardom Champion
The is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling tag team match types#Multiple man teamed matches, six-woman tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion ...
, two-time
World of Stardom Champion
The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...
, the inaugural
SWA World Champion
The is a women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Though the Japanese name of the title translates to "SWA World Championship", the title is also being internationally referred to ...
, one-time
Goddess of Stardom Champion
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion.
Title history
On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference to announce the first ever Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, which would cu ...
, and one-time
High Speed Champion. She was recognized as the "
ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
" of Stardom, and was the recipient of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 ''
Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' ma ...
''
Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' magazine annually since 1974. The most publicized awards in Japanese professional wrestling, they are recognized by all the major pr ...
s.
Making her debut in March 2007, she spent several years working as a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
wrestler, teaming with her older sister
Mio
Mio or MIO may refer to: shortened form of Mioritic Shepherd dog or Mioritic sheepdog; a Romanian mountain dog.
Places
* Mio, Michigan, a town in the US
Music
* ''Mío'', 2011 album by David Bustamante
* "Mío", 1992 song by Paulina Rubio
Bra ...
, with whom she wrestled for various
promotions across Japan and Mexico, winning the TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Championship in the process. In June 2010, she and her sister came together with
Kana
The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most p ...
to form the Triple Tails
stable, which lasted for 15 months, before Io broke out of the group and embarked on her singles career in Stardom. Io quickly became one of the promotion's top stars, and in April 2013, she won the promotion's top title, the
World of Stardom Championship
The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...
, which she held twice, with each reign lasting for over a year. She worked for Stardom from 2011 until 2018, when she signed with WWE.
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit
Team Makehen (2007–2010)
Odate made her
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
debut on March 4, 2007, alongside her older sister, with the two adopting the
ring names Io and
Mio Shirai
is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Jo ...
, respectively ("Shirai" being Japanese for "Purple Thunder"). In their debut match, the Io sisters teamed with
Toshie Uematsu
is a female Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. She was one of the members of the first class of wrestlers trained by Chigusa Nagayo when Nagayo formed the GAEA Japan promotion. Uematsu fi ...
to face the trio of Erika Ura, Nozomi Takesako and Yuri Urai.
At the time of her debut, Io was only 16 years old, working part-time while attending high school. After graduating, she started working full-time as a professional wrestler.
Starting their careers as
freelancers, the Shirai sisters represented Team Makehen, a
stable made up of wrestlers trained by
Tomohiko Hashimoto
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former judoka and mixed martial artist, best known for his time with Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), where he competed as a mainstay from 2000 to 2006. After working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent c ...
, in several
independent promotions during their first year in the business, including Ibuki,
Pro Wrestling Wave
, is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Ta ...
,
JWP Joshi Puroresu
, also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...
,
and
Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling
, often called , is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. It is based in the city of Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku region.
History
Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Meiko Satomura, a female professional wrestler ...
.
On October 19, 2008, Shirai and Mio made their debuts for one of Japan's largest professional wrestling promotions,
All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...
(AJPW), wrestling in a match, where they defeated the team of
Kyoko Kimura
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Throughout her 14-year career, she competed in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ibuki, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, am ...
and Mikado. From January to March 2009, the Shirais also made several appearances for another large promotion not usually known for female wrestling,
Pro Wrestling Zero1
(stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. ...
. On April 29, the Shirai sisters won their first championship by defeating
Moeka Haruhi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, gravure idol, voice actress and television and radio personality. Starting her career in the Gatokunyan promotion in 2005, Haruhi remained with the promotion for two years, before transferring over to Pro Wres ...
and
Tomoka Nakagawa
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent ...
in a tournament final to become the first TLW (Totally Lethal Wrestling) World Young Women's Tag Team Champions.
Despite its name, the championship was owned and promoted by Pro Wrestling Wave.
On July 12, Io received her first singles title opportunity, when she unsuccessfully challenged
Misaki Ohata
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by her maiden name . She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osaka Joshi Pro Wrestling. She is a forme ...
for the
JWP Junior and
Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship
The Princess of Pro-Wrestling (POP) Championship is a Japanese women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title was created in the JDStar promotion on June 24, 2006, when Fuka defeated Natsuki☆Head in the f ...
s at ''Ibuki #30''. From July to November, the Shirais spent four months working for the
Ice Ribbon
is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan.
History
Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler who was active with IWA Japan and ...
promotion.
On November 12, 2009, the Shirais entered Pro Wrestling Wave's Captain's Fall Six Person Tag Team Tournament, teaming with Gami, but the trio was defeated in their first round match by
Ran Yu-Yu
Ran, RaN and ran may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
* "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea
* '' Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game)
* ...
, Ryo Mizunami and Toshie Uematsu.
However, the trio earned their way back into the tournament by defeating Misaki Ohata, Moeka Haruhi and
Yumi Ohka
, better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Originally trained by the now defunct JDStar promotion, Ohka now works for Oz Academy and Pro Wrestling Wave. She is a former two-time Wave Single Champion, while also bein ...
in a consolation match later that same day.
On November 25, the Shirais and Gami first defeated Bullfight Sora, Cherry and
Kaoru
Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males or females.
Name Meanings
The name's
meaning varies depending on its written form:
*薫/郁/芳 — "fragrance", common for both males and females
*馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females
...
in the semi-finals and then
Ayumi Kurihara
(born July 13, 1984) is a retired '' joshi puroresu '' wrestler.
Professional wrestling career
Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promotion AtoZ and then transferred to M's Style, where she learned the craft from well-kn ...
,
Kana
The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most p ...
and
Shuu Shibutani
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Having started her career in the JDStar promotion in September 2004, Shibutani remained with the promotion until it folded in July 2007, after which she affiliated herse ...
in the finals to win the tournament, with Io, as the captain, scoring the deciding pinfall over Shibutani.
On December 23, the Shirais lost the TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Championship to Misaki Ohata and Moeka Haruhi. On May 30, 2010, Io entered the
2010 Catch the Wave tournament. After three wins and one loss, Shirai finished tied at the top of her block, but was on August 10 eliminated from the tournament, after being defeated in a tiebreaker match by Ryo Mizunami.
Triple Tails (2010–2011)
On June 19, 2010, the Shirai sisters formed the Triple Tails stable with fellow freelancer Kana, defeating Ayumi Kurihara,
Hikaru Shida
is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...
and
Yoshiko Tamura
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Tamura was trained by the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion, made her debut in September 1994 and worked for the promotion for three years, winning the AJW Junior Championship, before ...
in their first match together at a NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling event. As a result, the Shirais received a shot Kurihara's and Tamura's NEO Tag Team Championship on July 4, but were defeated by the defending champions. On August 1, Io teamed with Kana for another shot at title, but they were again defeated by Kurihara and Tamura. Triple Tails returned to its winning ways on August 29, by defeating
Asami Kawasaki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress. She debuted as a pro wrestler in 2003 while also attending an acting school run by Yoshimoto Kōgyō. Wrestling for a time for JDStar, she retired from the ring in 2006, but returned again in 2009. ...
, Hikaru Shida and
Nagisa Nozaki
is a Japanese professional wrestler. She started her career in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling promotion in November 2006 and after the promotion's folding in December 2010, worked for independent promotions such as Pro Wrestling Wave and Wor ...
in a six-woman tag team match. On December 19, Triple Tails made its debut as a unit for Pro Wrestling Wave, defeating Cherry, Gami and
Tomoka Nakagawa
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent ...
in a six-woman tag team main event.
On January 29, 2011, the Shirais made their debuts for
Smash, when the Triple Tails stable attacked
Yusuke Kodama
is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser ...
and
Makoto
is a unisex Japanese name although it is more commonly used by males.
As a noun, Makoto means "sincerity" (誠) or "truth" (真, 眞).
People
Given name
* Makoto (musician) (born 1977), drum and bass artist
*Makoto (Sharan Q) ( まこと), ...
after their matches, with the trio being both times chased out of the ring by
Tajiri. On February 13, Triple Tails produced its first own event, where the Shirai sisters wrestled male tag team Momo no Seishun Tag (
Atsushi Kotoge
(born October 18, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former one-time GHC Tag Team Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and record eleven-time GHC Junior Heavyweigh ...
and
Daisuke Harada
(born November 13, 1986) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He’s a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and a six-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion.
Harada is also known for his ti ...
) in a losing effort.
On February 25, the Shirais made their Smash in-ring debuts at ''Smash.14'', where they teamed with Kana to defeat Ken Ohka, Tajiri and Yoshiaki Yago in an intergender six person tag team match. In March, Triple Tails took part in
Osaka Pro Wrestling
Osaka Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1998 by Super Delfin. The promotion held a major flagship event called the Osaka Hurricane each year from 2003 to 2012 and also hosted the fourth edition of the Sup ...
's Spring Samba Series, going undefeated in six person tag team matches for the duration of the tour. On April 30 at ''Smash.16'', Triple Tails was defeated in a six-woman tag team match by Makoto,
Serena and
Syuri
is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist, better known simply as . Syuri formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship. Syuri is currently working for World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the ...
.
On May 3 at ''Smash.17'', the Shirai sisters were defeated in a tag team match by Hikaru Shida and Syuri.
Triple Tails' second event took place on May 8 and saw Io, Mio and Kana defeat Akino, Kagetsu and Syuri in a main event six woman tag team match.
On July 23, Triple Tails held a press conference to announce that, following the group's third self-produced event on September 18, Io was leaving the stable in order to pursue a singles career. On August 21, Triple Tails made its debut for
Oz Academy
is a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top free ...
, defeating the trio of Ayumi Kurihara, Hiren and Yumi Ohka. On September 14, Triple Tails defeated Cherry, Moeka Haruhi and Shuu Shibutani in the group's final Pro Wrestling Wave appearance. Four days later, Triple Tails defeated
Dash Chisako
, better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. She was trained by Meiko Satomura and has worked for her Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion since her debut in July 2006. For the first ten years of her career, Chisako wa ...
, Ryo Mizunami and
Sendai Sachiko
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . She was trained by Meiko Satomura and made her debut for her Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion in July 2006. Her older sister Chisako is also a professional wrestl ...
at their third self-produced event in the group's final appearance together.
Mexico (2010–2012, 2014, 2015)
In 2010, Shirai traveled to Mexico, where she entered a local wrestling school to undergo further training.
On October 14, 2010, Shirai, working under the ring name Biba Kasai, made her debut for
International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, S ...
(IWRG) at an event in
Naucalpan
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of 125 municipalities located just northwest of Mexico City in the adjoining State of Mexico. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends into the neighboring municipa ...
, Mexico, where she teamed with
Mini Abismo Negro
Mini Abismo Negro (born November 21, 1978) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'' who works in the ''Mini-Estrella'' division for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). Mini Abismo Negro is a former, two time Mexican Nat ...
,
Monster Clown
Rafael Ramírez Solorza (born February 24, 1976) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', better known by the ring name Monster Clown and previously worked as Aliens between 2004 and 2007 before adopting his current ring name. He is currently under contract ...
and Yuriko to defeat
El Hijo de Cien Caras
Eustacio Jiménez Ibarra (March 21, 1976 – November 29, 2010) was a Mexican '' Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler better known by the ring name of El Hijo de Cien Caras. The name is Spanish for "the Son of Cien Caras." ...
,
Mari Apache
Mariella Balbuena Torres (born October 19, 1979) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mari Apache (sometimes written as "Mary Apache"). She is the daughter of ''Luchador'' Gran Apache and t ...
,
Mascarita Divina
Mascarita Divina (born December 1, 1990) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. Divina works for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide in their ''Mini-Estrella'' division. Mascarita Divina's name is S ...
and Pasión Cristal via disqualification in an eight-person tag team match.
In Mexico, both Shirais worked under cat-like
masks
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...
they would only wear for their entrances in Japan. On October 31, both of the Shirai sisters were brought over to
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, which had a working relationship with IWRG, and repackaged, with Io adopting the ring name Oyuki and Mio becoming Kaguya. In their first AAA match, Oyuki and Kaguya teamed with Yuriko in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by
Cynthia Moreno
Flavia Antonia Moreno León (born July 23, 1970) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Cynthia Moreno (sometimes spelled "Cinthia Moreno") She is working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Mo ...
,
Gato Eveready
Víctor Manuel Soto Flores (born July 23, 1975) is a Mexican '' Luchador'' or professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, where he is the former AAA Latin American Champion.
Flores has worked as Drago in Lucha Und ...
and
Mari Apache
Mariella Balbuena Torres (born October 19, 1979) is a Mexican ''Luchadora'', or female professional wrestler best known under the ring name Mari Apache (sometimes written as "Mary Apache"). She is the daughter of ''Luchador'' Gran Apache and t ...
. During their stay in AAA, Oyuki and Kaguya became associates of the ''
La Legión Extranjera
La Legión Extranjera (Spanish for "The Foreign Legion") was the main Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración heel group, though loosely affiliated. It was a catch all for one time and irregularly scheduled foreign heels, working as Konnan's hired ...
'' (Foreign Legion) stable.
On November 7, Oyuki and Kaguya defeated
Faby and Mari Apache in a tag team match and afterwards stole Faby's
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship
The AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato en Parejas Mixtas AAA'' in Spanish) is a tag team title contested for in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). The championship is exclusively for teams composed ...
and Mari's
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship
The AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (literally "AAA Queen of Queens Championship", "AAA Women's Championship") is a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). It is the only females champions ...
belts. On November 15, the Apaches and Cynthia Moreno defeated Oyuki, Kaguya and
Sexy Star
Dulce Maria García Rivas (born September 20, 1982) is a Mexican ''luchadora'' '' enmascarada'', or masked female professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is better known by the ring name Sexy Star. She is best kno ...
in a six-woman tag team match.
A week later, Oyuki, Kaguya and
Jennifer Blake defeated Moreno and the Apaches in another six woman tag team match.
This would turn out to be Oyuki's and Kaguya's final AAA appearance, which resulted in the storyline with the Apaches being dropped without a conclusion.
Shirai, now working without her mask and under the ring name Io Shirai, returned to Mexico on May 15, 2011, at ''Lucha Fan Fest 4'', where she teamed with
Nosawa
, better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions.
Career Early career (19952004)
Nos ...
to defeat Chica Tormenta and
Mike Segura
Miguel Angel Nava (born July 29, 1969) is a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler best known under the ring name, Mike Segura. North American fans knows Nava under the name Super Nova from his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...
for the
vacant
Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is t ...
Americas World Mixed Tag Team Championship.
In November 2011, Shirai returned to Mexico with Wrestling All-Star Pros (WASP) for another two-week tour. On November 1, Shirai put her hair on the line in her first
''Lucha de Apuestas'' Hair vs. Mask match, a four-way
intergender elimination match, where she faced Ángel o Demonio, La Maléfica and Shitara. Eventually, the match came down to Shirai and La Maléfica, ending with Shirai submitting her opponent for the win, forcing her to unmask herself.
Shirai and Nosawa defended the Americas World Mixed Tag Team Championship back in Japan on January 3, 2012, defeating Ken Ohka and Mio Shirai at a
Union Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually b ...
event. Shirai returned to Mexico on May 19, 2012, to take part in Lucha Expo in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, where she teamed with Keira to defeat Chica Tormenta and
La Vaquerita
Isabel Ordóñez Martínez, better known under her ring name La Vaquerita (Spanish for "The Little Cowgirl"; born May 16, 1978 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchadora'', or female professional wrestler currently ...
in a tag team match.
Upon Shirai's return to Japan, she was arrested under suspicion of marijuana smuggling.
This resulted in a two-year break from her regular trips to Mexico, before, on January 27, 2014, Shirai announced her return to the country. Shirai returned to Mexico on May 11 to take part in
Toryumon Mexico Toryumon or Tōryūmon may refer to:
*Toryumon (Último Dragón)
is a professional wrestling promotion that operated in Japan until 2004 and in Mexico, where it's called Toryumon Mexico. The promotion is owned and operated by Yoshihiro Asai, who ...
's ''DragonMania 9'' event, where she,
Dark Angel,
Kairi Hojo
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...
and
Mayu Iwatani
(born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-tim ...
defeated Ahy Lyyn, Baby Star, Diosa Atenea and Mystique in an eight-woman tag team match. On May 23, 2015, Shirai returned to Mexico, first taking part in Toryumon Mexico's ''DragonMania 10'' event in
Arena México
Arena México is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico, located in the Colonia Doctores neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or ''lucha libre'', shows promoted by Consejo Mundial de Luc ...
, where she, Diosa Atenea, Mayu Iwatani and
Mima Shimoda
is a Japanese female professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well known for being half of Las ...
defeated India Mazahua, India Sioux, Maligna and Xena in an eight-woman tag team match. Later that same day, Shirai also took part in ''Lucha Fan Fest 8'', where she,
Dos Caras
José Luis Rodríguez Arellano (born February 21, 1951) is a Mexican '' Luchador Enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras (Spanish for "two faces"). His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980 ...
and Vanely defeated Atenea, Iwatani and
Brazo de Plata
José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican luchador best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Porky. A ...
in a six-person tag team match.
World Wonder Ring Stardom (2011–2018)
After leaving Triple Tails, Shirai, though still billed as a freelancer, effectively made
World Wonder Ring Stardom
World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム 女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...
her new home promotion, making her debut on August 14, 2011, when she teamed with
Nanae Takahashi
(born December 23, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng. She has wrestled for prominent Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Sun, and is a two-time women's world champion in m ...
to defeat
Yoko Bito
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Bito initially made her in-ring debut in December 2010 for World Wonder Ring Stardom and quickly became one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, until announ ...
and
Yuzuki Aikawa
is a Japanese gravure idol and retired professional wrestler. Starting her modeling career in 2003, Aikawa went on to become one of Japan's top gravure idols, earning the nickname "The Gravure Queen of the Next Generation" by appearing in variou ...
in a tag team match, pinning Aikawa and afterwards challenging her to a match for the
Wonder of Stardom Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title, which in Stardom's championship hierarchy is situated as t ...
.
Shirai continued to team with Takahashi the following month, before unsuccessfully challenging Aikawa for the Wonder of Stardom Championship on September 25.
On October 10, Shirai and Takahashi entered the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League.
When the tournament concluded two weeks later, Shirai and Takahashi finished with a record of one win and two losses and did not advance in the tournament.
In January 2012, Shirai formed the Planet stable with Arisa Hoshiki, Mayu Iwatani and Natsumi Showzuki.
On March 4, Shirai produced her own independent event named ''Carino!'', which celebrated her fifth anniversary in professional wrestling and during which she officially aligned herself with Stardom, ending her freelancing days. In the main event of the show, Shirai teamed with Dark Angel, whom she had befriended during her time in Mexico, to defeat Miho Wakizawa and Nanae Takahashi in a tag team match.
On March 25, Shirai unsuccessfully challenged
Natsuki☆Taiyo
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Making her debut for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) in January 2004, Mizushima quickly affiliated herself with Nanae Takahashi, following her out of AJW in 2006 a ...
for the
High Speed Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was originally created on May 5, 2009, in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling promotion, where Natsuki☆Taiyo defeated Ray to becom ...
.
On April 22, Shirai, Arisa Hoshiki and Natsumi Showzuki of the Planet stable made it to the finals of a six-woman tag team tournament, set to determine the number one stable in Stardom, however, there they were defeated by Nanae Gundan (Miho Wakizawa, Nanae Takahashi and Yuuri Haruka).
Following her May 2012 drug arrest and eventual acquittal, Shirai made her in-ring return on July 22, taking part in a
Stardom Rumble
In professional wrestling, a battle royal (sometimes battle royale; plural battles royal or battle royals) is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared the winner. Typical battles royal begin w ...
to determine the final four participants in the 5★Star GP2012 tournament. Shirai scored the last elimination of the match, pinning Planet stablemate Mayu Iwatani to qualify for the tournament.
Shirai finished the tournament, held from August 19 to September 30, with two wins, one draw and one loss, failing to advance to the finals.
On October 27, Shirai and Mayu Iwatani entered the 2012 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League under the team name "Thunder Rock", defeating previous year's finalists, Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu (Natsuki☆Taiyo and
Yoshiko) in their opening
round-robin match.
However, after losing their two remaining round-robin matches, Shirai and Iwatani failed to qualify for the finals of the tournament.
Shirai finished her 2012 by losing to Kyoko Kimura on December 24 in a match, where the winner would earn the right to challenge for any of Stardom's titles.
On January 14, 2013, Shirai, along with Planet stablemates Mayu Iwatani and Natsumi Showzuki, entered a tournament to determine the inaugural
Artist of Stardom Champions
The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...
. They were, however, eliminated in their first round match by Team
Shimmer (
Kellie Skater
Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is a retired Australian professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She is perhaps best known for h ...
,
Portia Perez
Jenna Grattan (born October 26, 1987) is a Canadian former professional wrestler better known by her ring name Portia Perez. Perez teamed with Nicole Matthews as The Canadian NINJAs, and they are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions.
...
and Tomoka Nakagawa).
Six days later, Shirai and Iwatani unsuccessfully challenged Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu (Natsuki☆Taiyo and Yoshiko) for the
Goddess of Stardom Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion.
Title history
On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference t ...
.
![Io Shirai World of Stardom Champion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Io_Shirai_World_of_Stardom_Champion.jpg)
On March 24, 2013, Shirai first defeated
Kaori Yoneyama
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-time J ...
in the semi-finals and then Dark Angel in the finals to become the number one contender to the
World of Stardom Championship
The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...
at the biggest event in Stardom's history on April 29 at
Ryōgoku Kokugikan.
Shirai faced off with the reigning World of Stardom Champion,
Alpha Female
Marie Kristin Gabert (June 4, 1982) is a German professional wrestler and former professional powerlifter, strongwoman, bodybuilder, and mixed martial artist under the names Alpha Female and Jazzy Gabert. She is best known on the independent scene ...
, for the first time on March 31, when she and Dark Angel were defeated in a tag team match by Kyoko Kimura and the champion, who pinned Shirai for a decisive win.
On April 29 at ''
Ryōgoku Cinderella'', Shirai defeated Alpha Female to become the third World of Stardom Champion.
Shirai made her first successful title defense on June 2 against Yoshiko.
On August 17, Shirai defeated Kyoko Kimura for her second successful title defense.
From August 25 to September 23, Shirai took part in 5★Star GP2013, where she finished with a record of three wins, one draw and one loss, with a draw on the final day against rookie Takumi Iroha costing her a spot in the finals.
Shirai and Iroha then teamed up for the 2013 Goddesses of Stardom Tag Tournament, but were eliminated in their first round match on October 20 by Kairi Hojo and Nanae Takahashi, the winner of the 5★Star GP2013 who was now eyeing a shot at Shirai's World of Stardom Championship.
The title match between Shirai and Takahashi took place on November 4 at Stardom's 100th event, where Shirai was victorious with only one second remaining in the thirty-minute time limit, making her third successful title defense.
Post-match, Shirai offered the next shot at her title to JWP Joshi Puroresu wrestler
Arisa Nakajima
is a Japanese professional wrestler. Trained by the Major Girl's Fighting AtoZ promotion, Nakajima made her debut in January 2006, but when the promotion folded the following May, she transferred over to JWP Joshi Puroresu, where she became a ...
. Nakajima accepted the match on the condition that she could first regain the
JWP Openweight Championship
The JWP Openweight Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship, which was situated at the top of JWP's championship hierarchy, was introduced on December 2, 1992, when ...
.
On December 16, the day after Nakajima had regained the title, a title match between Shirai and Nakajima for both the World of Stardom and JWP Openweight Championships was made official for December 29. The match ended in a thirty-minute time limit draw, meaning that both champions retained their titles.
Post-match, Shirai was challenged to another double title match by new High Speed Champion Natsuki☆Taiyo.
At Stardom's annual awards ceremony later that same day, Shirai was named the promotion's MVP of 2013.
On January 26, 2014, at Stardom's third anniversary event, Shirai defeated High Speed Champion Natsuki☆Taiyo in a match, where only the World of Stardom Championship was on the line, to make her fifth successful title defense.
Nearing the one-year anniversary of her World of Stardom Championship win, Shirai vowed to break Nanae Takahashi's records for both the longest reign (602 days) and most successful title defenses (seven), while also announcing she was accepting challengers from all over the world. Shirai made her sixth successful title defense against American wrestler
Melissa
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey".
''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...
on March 16,
and the record-tying seventh successful defense against previous champion Alpha Female on April 29.
On May 6, Shirai became a double champion in Stardom, when she defeated the soon-to-retire Natsuki☆Taiyo for the High Speed Championship.
On May 17, Shirai made her record-setting eighth successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship by defeating Star Fire at Lucha Fan Fest 7 in Mexico City.
Upon her return to Stardom, Shirai made her ninth successful title defense against Takumi Iroha on June 1. Afterwards, she offered the next title shot to
Meiko Satomura
Meiko Satomura (里村 明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...
, who had defeated her in a non-title match at a Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling event on April 26. On July 10, Shirai defeated Satomura for her tenth successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship. On July 20, Shirai got an opportunity to become Stardom's first
Triple Crown Champion, but she and Takumi Iroha, billed collectively as "Heisei Star", failed in their attempt to capture the Goddess of Stardom Championship from Kimura Monster-gun (Alpha Female and Kyoko Kimura). On August 10, Shirai lost the World of Stardom Championship to Yoshiko, ending her reign at 468 days and ten successful defenses.
After their World of Stardom Championship match against each other, Shirai and Yoshiko agreed to form a new partnership, which was also joined by Mayu Iwatani, Reo Hazuki and Takumi Iroha. The five, all born during the
Heisei period, started a new rivalry with Stardom's older
Shōwa period
Shōwa may refer to:
* Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa
* Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu
Japanese eras
* Jōwa (Heian ...
-born wrestlers, led by Nanae Takahashi.
From August 24 to September 23, Shirai took part in the 2014 5★Star GP. After three wins and two losses, Shirai advanced to the finals, where she defeated Yoshiko to win the tournament.
On November 3, Shirai and Yoshiko, whose partnership was now officially known as "Heisei-gun" ("Heisei Army"), unsuccessfully challenged Shōwa-gun's Kairi Hojo and Nanae Takahashi for the Goddess of Stardom Championship. Later that month, Shirai and Mayu Iwatani made it to the finals of the 2014 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, but were defeated there by Hojo and Takahashi. On November 24, Shirai made her first successful defense of the High Speed Championship against Shōwa-gun's Koguma.
On December 7, Shirai once again became a double champion, when she and Heisei-gun stablemates Mayu Iwatani and Takumi Iroha defeated Tomodachi Mania (Hatsuhinode Kamen, Kaori Yoneyama and
Tsubasa Kuragaki
is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . For most of her career, Kuragaki has worked for JWP Joshi Puroresu, becoming a one-time JWP Junior and two-time JWP Openweight Champion as a singles wrestler. As a tag team ...
) to win the Artist of Stardom Championship.
On February 14, Shirai took part in her sister Mio's independent M.I.O event, defeating Mio in a main event singles match, which marked their first match together in three years. On February 22, Shirai lost the High Speed Championship to Koguma in her third defense. On March 29, following Yoshiko's suspension from Stardom, Shirai was entered into a four-woman tournament to determine the new World of Stardom Champion. After defeating Takumi Iroha, she advanced to the finals of the tournament, where she was defeated by Kairi Hojo. On April 14, Heisei-gun was stripped of the Artist of Stardom Championship due to Iroha being sidelined with a knee injury. On May 6, Shirai and Iwatani first defeated Oedo Tai (
Kris Wolf and Star Fire) and then Candy Crush (Chelsea and Kairi Hojo) to win a tournament for the vacant Goddess of Stardom Championship.
On May 17, Shirai defeated
Nikki Storm
Nicola Glencross (born 21 April 1989) is a Scottish professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Nikki Cross. She is a one-time WWE Raw Women's Champion, three-time WWE Women's Tag Te ...
in a decision match to win the vacant Wonder of Stardom Championship, becoming the first wrestler to have held all five of Stardom's championships.
Ahead of Mio Shirai's impending retirement from professional wrestling, she made her Stardom debut on July 26 to wrestle what was billed as the Shirai sisters' final match together, where Io and Mio defeated
Hiroyo Matsumoto
(born November 6, 1985) is Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with othe ...
and Mayu Iwatani.
On September 23, Shirai and Iwatani broke the record for most successful defenses of the Goddess of Stardom Championship by defeating Dash Chisako and Sendai Sachiko for their fourth defense.
On October 17, Shirai defeated
Mia Yim
Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her tim ...
in
Covina, California
Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 201 ...
, during Stardom's first American tour, to make her sixth successful defense of the Wonder of Stardom Championship. During the second event in
Baldwin Park, California
Baldwin Park is a city located in the central San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,176, down from 75,390 at the 2010 census.
History
Baldwin Park began as ...
two days later, Shirai and Iwatani made their fifth successful defense of the Goddess of Stardom Championship against Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater. On November 8, Shirai and Iwatani won the 2015 Goddesses of Stardom Tag Tournament, defeating Alex Lee and Kaori Yoneyama in the first round and Hiroyo Matsumoto and
Santana Garrett
Santana Garrett (born May 22, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, valet and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she works as a coach at the Performance Center. During her career, Garrett has wrestled in many independent promotio ...
in the final match, which also marked their sixth successful defense of the Goddess of Stardom Championship.
After seven successful title defenses, Shirai lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship to Santana Garrett on November 23 in a match also contested for Garrett's
NWA World Women's Championship
The NWA World Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was first won by Mildred Burke in 193 ...
. On December 7, ''
Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' ma ...
'' voted Shirai the
''joshi'' wrestler of the year over Kairi Hojo, Meiko Satomura and Saki Akai.
On December 23, Shirai defeated Meiko Satomura to become the first two-time World of Stardom Champion.
Meanwhile, Thunder Rock also continued their reign as the Goddess of Stardom Champions, defeating the rookie team of Jungle Kyona and Momo Watanabe on January 10, 2016, for their seventh successful title defense. On January 17, Shirai made her first successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship against Kairi Hojo. On February 28, Shirai became a triple champion, when she, Iwatani and Kairi Hojo, billed collectively as "Threedom" (a combination of the words "Three" and "Stardom"), defeated
Evie Evie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Evie (given name)
* Evie (singer), American contemporary Christian music singer Evelyn Tornquist (born 1957)
* Evie (wrestler), ring name of New Zealand female professional wrestler Cheree Crowl ...
, Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater to win the Artist of Stardom Championship.
In April, Shirai, along with Iwatani and Hojo, traveled to the United States to take part in events held by
Lucha Underground and Vendetta Pro Wrestling. On May 15, Thunder Rock faced off in a match, where Shirai defeated Iwatani to make her fourth successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship. Later in the month, Stardom wrestlers took part in a European tour, during which the promotion debuted the new
Stardom World Association (SWA) World Championship. On May 21, Shirai first defeated Kay Lee Ray in the first round, then Dragonita in the semi-finals and finally
Toni Storm
Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...
in the finals to win the tournament and become the inaugural champion.
After setting records for both the longest reign and most successful title defenses, Shirai and Iwatani lost the Goddess of Stardom Championship to Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura in their 11th title defense on June 16. On July 24, Shirai lost the SWA World Championship to Toni Storm in her third defense. The following day, Shirai announced she was undergoing a tailbone surgery, but was only expected to miss one month of in-ring action. On October 2, Threedom lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura) in their third defense. On November 11, Thunder Rock made it to the finals of the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. After losing to Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito, Shirai turned on Iwatani, declared that Thunder Rock and Threedom were history and announced a new partnership with an unidentified masked woman.
On November 20, Shirai and her new partner, now revealed as the former Reo Hazuki and renamed "HZK", were joined by Momo Watanabe, who turned on Mayu Iwatani during a tag team match. The Shirai led new stable was later dubbed "Queen's Quest". On December 14, Shirai was awarded her second consecutive ''joshi'' wrestler of the year award by ''Tokyo Sports''.
Shirai closed her year by making her ninth successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship against former tag team partner Mayu Iwatani on December 22. On January 7, 2017, Queen's Quest became the new Artist of Stardom Champions by defeating Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kyoko Kimura and
Viper
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
) for the vacant title.
On February 11, after Momo Watanabe had been sidelined with an injury, Azumi became the newest member of Queen's Quest, adopting the ring name "AZM". On February 23, Shirai made her eleventh successful defense of the World of Stardom Championship against
Shayna Baszler
Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...
, breaking her own record for most defenses of the title. On March 9, Shirai celebrated her tenth anniversary in professional wrestling with a special event, which saw her team with Meiko Satomura to defeat
Chihiro Hashimoto
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling, where she is the current five time Sendai Girls World Champion. Hashimoto was trained in the Sendai Girls' dojo under Meiko Satomura, and made her debut in Octo ...
and Mayu Iwatani in a main event tag team match. On April 9, Queen's Quest was stripped of the Artist of Stardom Championship due to Watanabe's injury. Queen's Quest, now represented by Shirai, AZM and HZK, regained the title six days later by defeating Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu and
Rosa Negra
Nilka García Solís (born November 14, 1981) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler known as Black Rose or ''La Rosa Negra''.
Professional wrestling career
García began wrestling in Puerto Rico. She worked in World Wrestling Council (WWC) ...
) in the finals of a four-team tournament.
They lost the title to Hiromi Mimura, Kairi Hojo and Konami in their first defense on May 6, only to regain it on June 4.
They lost the title to Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona and Kaori Yoneyama) in their first defense on June 17. After a reign of 18 months with a record 14 successful title defenses, Shirai lost the World of Stardom Championship to Wonder of Stardom Champion Mayu Iwatani on June 21. The following day, Shirai announced that she was going on an indefinite hiatus to undergo treatment for a neck injury. She had suffered the injury taking a
piledriver from Toni Storm during their World of Stardom Championship match on May 14.
Shirai returned from her injury on July 30, offering Oedo Tai member Viper a membership in Queen's Quest. After Viper accepted the offer, Shirai vowed to regain the Artist of Stardom Championship and win the 2017 5★Star GP. Shirai's return match took place on August 13, when she, HZK and Viper regained the Artist of Stardom Championship from Matsumoto, Kyona and Yoneyama.
On November 19, Shirai defeated Yoko Bito to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the second time. On December 14, Shirai became the first wrestler in history to win three consecutive female wrestler of the year awards from ''Tokyo Sports''.
On April 21, 2018, Shirai made her tenth successful defense of the Wonder of Stardom Championship against Martina, breaking
Santana Garrett
Santana Garrett (born May 22, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, valet and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she works as a coach at the Performance Center. During her career, Garrett has wrestled in many independent promotio ...
's record for most defenses of the title. On May 23, Shirai lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship to Momo Watanabe in her twelfth title defense. On May 29, 2018, Stardom announced Shirai's departure after her last match on June 10. Shirai wrestled her final matches for Stardom on June 10 taking part of a ten-match one-minute time limit series against members of the Stardom roster that ended in one win and one loss.
WWE
Signing and Mae Young Classic (2017–2018)
In October 2016, the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
'' reported that both Shirai and
Kairi Hojo
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...
had been contacted and offered
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
contracts, starting in 2017. Reportedly, Shirai had informed Stardom's management that she was taking the offer. In March 2017, Shirai took part in a WWE tryout at the
WWE Performance Center
The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE ...
in
Orlando, Florida. Her tryout was not supposed to go public, but due to a communications issue, she was featured on WWE's official website in an article that was taken down shortly afterwards. After the tryout, Shirai confirmed that she had been offered a contract.
On May 15, 2017,
Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...
of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' reported that Shirai had accepted the contract offer from WWE. The following month, it was reported that a WWE medical examination had discovered a neck injury that would delay Shirai's WWE debut. In August, Meltzer reported that just as doctors had cleared Shirai to return to the ring, WWE had rescinded their contract offer, noting the company had a "general rule of not wanting to bring in new talent that either has concussion issues or neck issues". It was later reported that the medical examination had also found an issue with Shirai's heart. Japanese doctors had cleared Shirai for both her heart and neck, but WWE doctors suggested passing on signing her. Six months later on May 28, 2018, ''
Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' ma ...
'' reported that Shirai was in discussions with WWE. On May 29, Shirai announced she would be leaving Stardom.
Shirai made her first official appearance for the promotion on June 30, 2018, at the WWE
house show in
Ryōgoku Kokugikan, where it was announced she had signed with the promotion and would be competing in their
developmental territory
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
,
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
. In July, it was announced that Shirai would participate in the second
Mae Young Classic
The Mae Young Classic was a women's professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE, an American-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was named in honor of the late Mae Young, a WWE Hall of Famer who is consi ...
tournament. On August 8, Shirai defeated
Xia Brookside
Xia-Louise Brooks (born 16 October 1998) is an English professional wrestler and valet. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Xia Brookside. She has also worked for World Wonder Ring ...
in the tournament's first round in her WWE debut match. The following day, on August 9, Shirai defeated
Zeuxis in the second round,
Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna Purrazzo (born June 10, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she is a former two-time Impact Knockouts World Champion and a former Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion. She also appe ...
in the quarterfinals and
Rhea Ripley
Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgment Day. She was also the inaugural N ...
in the semi–finals to advance to the finals of the tournament, that took place at
WWE Evolution
WWE Evolution was a women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brand divisions. The event took place on October 28 ...
, on October 28, where Shirai was defeated by
Toni Storm
Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...
.
NXT (2018–2022)
In her first appearance for ''
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
'', Shirai debuted on November 17, 2018, at
TakeOver: WarGames where she and
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...
saved her best friend
Kairi Sane
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the cur ...
during her match with
Shayna Baszler
Shayna Andrea Baszler ( ; born August 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, kickboxer and former mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand. Baszler is a former two-time and longest ...
from an assault by her allies
Jessamyn Duke
Jessamyn Laurel Duke (born June 24, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As a wrestler, she worked with WWE as part of their NXT brand. She formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and I ...
and
Marina Shafir. She made her debut match on the December 19 episode of ''NXT'', where she teamed with Kai and they defeated Duke and Shafir in a tag team match, and because of her win, a week later, Shirai competed in a
fatal four-way match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. So ...
to determine the number one contender for the
NXT Women's Championship
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...
, however, the match was won by
Bianca Belair
Bianca Blair Crawford (born Bianca Nicole Blair; April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and a fitness and figure competitor. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bianca Belair, a ...
. Shortly after, with Kai sidelined with an injury, Shirai continued to team with Sane, forming a tag team known as "The Sky Pirates" while continuing to defeat various teams.
![Io Shirai - 2019-04-25 - 01 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Io_Shirai_-_2019-04-25_-_01_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On April 5, 2019, at
TakeOver: New York, Shirai and Sane took part in a fatal four-way match for the NXT Women's Championship, however, both were unsuccessful in capturing the title as Baszler submitted Bianca Belair to retain the title. Just six days later on April 11 (episode aired on
tape delay on April 17), Shirai interfered in Sane's rematch with Baszler and attacked her as she was looking to injure Sane, resulting in a disqualification loss for Sane. As a result, Sane was not allowed to challenge for the NXT Women's Championship anymore, which was a way to write her off the brand.
Following Sane's
move to the main roster, and the disbanding of The Sky Pirates, Shirai continued her feud with Baszler, Duke and Shafir as the three continuously attacked her. This ultimately led to a title match between Shirai and Baszler for the
NXT Women's Championship
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...
at
TakeOver: XXV on June 1, 2019. At the event, Shirai was unsuccessful in defeating Baszler, despite
Candice LeRae
Candice LeRae Gargano ('' née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way.
L ...
's interference and attack on Duke and Shafir. A few weeks later, on the June 26 episode of ''NXT'', Shirai received a rematch against Baszler in a
steel cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, however, she once again failed to capture the title. After the match, Shirai attacked LeRae (who once again took out Duke and Shafir) herself, turning
heel. In the summer, Shirai developed a new image, using a new
entrance theme
The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others ...
and wearing
black leather
Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a
type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an it ...
and continued her rivalry with LeRae. The storyline between the two culminated in a match at
TakeOver: Toronto on August 10, which Shirai won via submission.
In November, Shirai was announced as one of the participants in the first-ever women's
WarGames match
WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...
as part of Shayna Baszler's team who was feuding with
Rhea Ripley
Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgment Day. She was also the inaugural N ...
. At
TakeOver: WarGames, Baszler's team lost to Ripley and Candice LeRae, despite having a 2-on-4
handicap advantage. The next night at
Survivor Series
Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
, Shirai competed as part of Team NXT, in the first-ever 5-on-5-on-5 Women's
Survivor Series match
The Survivor Series match is a professional wrestling tag team elimination match held in WWE. The match typically sees two teams pitted against each other and members of the teams are eliminated one-by-one until one entire team is eliminated. Memb ...
, where her team won and she was one of the survivors. During a match against
Toni Storm
Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...
on the January 22, 2020, episode of ''NXT'', Shirai suffered a minor injury that kept her out of action for two months.
Shirai returned on the March 25 episode of ''NXT'', defeating
Aliyah and also qualifying for a number one contender's
ladder match. On the April 8 episode of ''NXT'', Shirai won the ladder match for an opportunity against the new NXT Women's Champion
Charlotte Flair
Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently inactive.
She is a second-genera ...
. She received her title match on the May 6 episode of ''NXT'', which she won via disqualification when Flair attacked her with a kendo stick. Throughout May, Shirai entered a storyline with both Flair and Ripley (whom Flair defeated to win the title at
WrestleMania 36
WrestleMania 36 was the 36th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
), which led to a
triple threat match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
at
TakeOver: In Your House. At the event, on June 7, Shirai defeated both Flair and Ripley to win the NXT Women's Championship, marking her first title win in WWE. Shirai defeated
Sasha Banks
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks.
Banks previously wrestled o ...
in a non-title match at
The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...
special episode of ''NXT''. During the summer, Shirai slowly transitioned into a
tweener and successfully defended her title against
Tegan Nox
Steffanie Rhiannon Newell (born 15 November 1994) is a Welsh professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Tegan Nox. Newell previously wrestled on the British independent circuit under ...
and
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...
at
TakeOver XXX. In September, Shirai renewed her rivalry with
Candice LeRae
Candice LeRae Gargano ('' née'' Dawson; born September 29, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand. She is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion and was a member of The Way.
L ...
. Their feud sparked two title matches at
TakeOver 31 and
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October.
It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...
, including the first ever
tables, ladders and scares match, in which Shirai was able to retain her title. On November 18 episode of ''NXT'', Shirai successfully retained her title against Rhea Ripley. At
TakeOver: WarGames, Shirai was a part of Team Blackheart (herself,
Shotzi Blackheart
Ashley Louise Urbanski (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Shotzi (shortened from her previous ring name Shotzi Bla ...
, Rhea Ripley and
Ember Moon
Adrienne Reese (born August 31, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Athena. She also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is the current ROH Wo ...
) who faced Team Lerae (Candice LeRae, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai and
Raquel González) in a losing effort in which Shirai was pinned by González. On February 14, 2021, at
TakeOver: Vengeance Day Shirai defeated
Mercedes Martinez
Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a form ...
and Toni Storm in a triple threat match to retain the NXT Women's Championship. On the March 10, episode of ''NXT'', Shirai was challenged by Storm for the title, which she retained. On April 7 in the main event of Night 1 of
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, she lost the title to Raquel González, ending her reign at 304 days.
Shirai made her return on the June 8 episode of ''NXT''. In the following weeks, Shirai allied with
Zoey Stark
Theresa Serrano (born January 25, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Zoey Stark, and is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Professional wrestl ...
as a tag team. On the June 29 episode of ''NXT'', they won a
triple threat match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to become the number one contenders for the
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current ch ...
. At
The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...
, Shirai and Stark defeated
The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) to win the titles. On the September 7 episode of ''NXT'', they defended their championship in a title match against the team of
Kacy Catanzaro
Kacy Esther Catanzaro (born January 14, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, gymnast and athletics-based television personality. She is currently signed with WWE on the NXT brand under the ring name Katana Chance. She competed ...
and
Kayden Carter
Allyssa Lyn "Lacey" Lane (born May 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under the ring name Kayden Carter, performing on the NXT brand. She is a one-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion with Katana Chance.
Earl ...
. They successfully retained their titles in a match against the
Toxic Attraction
Toxic Attraction was a professional wrestling stable in WWE on the NXT brand. The group originally consisted of Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne. After Rose was released from her WWE contract in December 2022, Toxic Attraction became a tag ...
(
Gigi Dolin
Priscilla Lee Kelly (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional wrestler.
She performs under the ring name Gigi Dolin in the NXT brand, and is one-half of the tag team Toxic Attraction with Jacy Jayne, and she is a former record-tying two-ti ...
and
Jacy Jayne
Taylor Grado (born June 2, 1996) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne as a member of Toxic Attraction. She is a former record-tying two-time NXT Women's Tag Team C ...
) on the September 28 episode of ''NXT''. At
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October.
It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...
, in a triple threat
Scareway to Hell Ladder match against the Toxic Attraction and the team of Indi Hartwell and
Persia Pirotta, they lost to Toxic Attraction, ending their reign at 111 days.
At
WarGames
''WarGames'' is a 1983 American science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follow ...
, Shirai teamed with
Cora Jade
Brianna Coda (born January 14, 2001) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, performing on the NXT brand under the ring name Cora Jade, where she is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Before signing to WWE, she previous ...
, Kay Lee Ray, and Raquel González. They defeated the team of Dakota Kai and Toxic Attraction in a
WarGames match
WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...
. In 2022, Shirai allied with Kay Lee Ray after saving the latter from Toxic Attraction's attack. As a tag team, they then entered
Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They defeated the team of Amari Miller and Lash Legend in the first round, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter in the semi-finals,
Wendy Choo
Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the promotion WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor and ...
and Dakota Kai in the finals and won Women's Dusty Cup. Shirai and Ray then decided to challenge
Mandy Rose
Amanda Rose Saccomanno (born July 18, 1990) is an American professional wrestler, television personality, and fitness and figure competitor. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Mandy Rose.
Rose began ...
for NXT Women's Championship at
Stand & Deliver instead of challenging tag team champions Dolin and Jayne.
They were unsuccessful in winning the title. Then she was out of action with an injury.
Damage CTRL (2022–present)
On July 30, 2022, Shirai made her return from injury at
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
alongside
Bayley and
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...
, with the three being allies and confronting
Raw Women's Champion
The WWE Raw Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two women's world titles for WWE's main roster, along ...
Bianca Belair
Bianca Blair Crawford (born Bianca Nicole Blair; April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and a fitness and figure competitor. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bianca Belair, a ...
. Shirai was presented under the new ring name Iyo Sky and joined the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...
as a heel.
On the following episode of ''
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
'', the trio targeted and attacked
Becky Lynch
Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and highest-paid wrestlers. Twitter name ...
,
Alexa Bliss
Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss signed a contract with WWE and was a ...
, and
Asuka
Asuka may refer to:
People
* Asuka (name), a list of people
* Asuka (wrestler), professional wrestler
* Asuka (wrestler, born 1998), professional wrestler also known as Veny outside of Japan
Places In Japan
* , an area in Yamato Province (now ...
. Sky's debut match was against Belair in a non-title match resulting in
no-contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neithe ...
due to
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
from Asuka, Bliss, Kai, and Bayley entering the ring and starting a fight. In the following week, the trio challenged Asuka, Belair, and Bliss for a
six-woman tag team match
Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
at
Clash at the Castle.
Sky and Kai then participated in
Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament and won the first round and semi-finals but they were unsuccessful in winning the finals and
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...
.
At Clash at the Castle, the
stable of Sky, Bayley, and Kai was named as
Damage CTRL
Damage Control (stylized as Damage CTRL) is a villainous professional wrestling stable composed of leader Bayley, Dakota Kai, & Iyo Sky currently performing in WWE on the Raw brand. Kai and Sky are the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions ...
and they won their match. On the September 12 episode of ''Raw'', Sky and Kai defeated Women's Tag Team Champions
Aliyah and
Raquel Rodriguez
Raquel or Racquel is a variation of the given name Rachel. Notable people with the name include:
Raquel
* Raquel (wrestler), Brazilian professional wrestler
* Raquel Alessi (born 1983), American former actress and model
* Raquel Naa Ayorkor Ammah ...
in a rematch to win the championship. On the October 31 episode of ''Raw'', they lost their title to the team of Asuka and Bliss. Sky and Kai then reclaimed the titles at
Crown Jewel in a rematch. At
Survivor Series WarGames, Damage CTRL,
Rhea Ripley
Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley and is a member of The Judgment Day. She was also the inaugural N ...
, and
Nikki Cross lost to Belair, Asuka, Bliss,
Mia Yim
Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name "Michin" Mia Yim. She is a member of The O.C.. She is also known for her tim ...
, and
Becky Lynch
Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and highest-paid wrestlers. Twitter name ...
in a WarGames match.
Professional wrestling persona and legacy
Shirai noted that her professional wrestling persona is inspired by
Rey Mysterio
Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...
. In 2016,
Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...
of the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
'' referred to Shirai and her fellow Japanese wrestlers
Kairi Hojo
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...
and
Mayu Iwatani
(born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-tim ...
as "three of the best wrestlers in the world".
Other media
In March 2017, Odate was featured in a ''
gravure
Rotogravure (or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography
...
'' spread on the ''
Weekly Playboy
, also known as or ''WPB'', is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966. Although the magazine publishes a variety of news and special interest articles, columns, celebrity interviews, and manga, it is considered an adult mag ...
'' magazine. Odate made her
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
debut as a playable character in ''
WWE 2K20
''WWE 2K20'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released worldwide on October 22, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twenty-first installment o ...
'', and subsequently in ''
WWE 2K22
''WWE 2K22'' is a 2022 professional wrestling sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It is the twenty-second overall installment of the video game series based on WWE, the ninth game under the ''WWE 2K'' banne ...
''.
Personal life
Odate was previously in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler
Kazushige Nosawa
, better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions.
Career Early career (19952004)
Nos ...
; the two lived together in
Koto, Tokyo.
She is a fan of
Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
and
Momoiro Clover Z
is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or .
The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies.
MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...
.
On May 23, 2012, Odate and Nosawa were arrested at the
Narita International Airport in
Narita, Chiba upon their return from Mexico under suspicion of trying to smuggle 75 grams of
marijuana, hidden inside paintings of the two, into the country.
Both Odate and Nosawa denied the charges, claiming that the paintings were gifts from fans.
Odate was released from a detention center on June 12. On June 21, Odate held a press conference, publicly apologizing to her fans, employers and co-workers, while again denying the charges. Odate also revealed that she had not considered retirement, but wanted to work again and regain the trust of her peers and fans, while also revealing that she and Nosawa had ended their relationship. On June 28, Japan's public prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute Odate over the incident. On July 9, Mexico based Japanese wrestler
Takuya Sugi
is a Japanese professional wrestler from Shizuoka. He currently works in Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) as Sugi (stylized in all capital letters), but he has used many aliases, most commonly Yoshitsune and Sugi, through his career in many Japanese ...
held a press conference and confessed to planting the drugs on Shirai and Nosawa. According to Sugi, Masahiro Hayashi, who worked as a liaison between AAA and Japan and who had a personal grudge with Nosawa, had promised him a contract extension with AAA in exchange for the deed.
Championships and accomplishments
*
JWP Joshi Puroresu
, also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...
** 5th Junior All Star Photogenic Award (2007) – with
Mio Shirai
is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current professional wrestling referee. She started her career in March 2007, working alongside her sister Io Shirai on the Japanese independent circuit for promotions such as Ice Ribbon, JWP Jo ...
* ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
''
** Ranked No. 4 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''
PWI Women's 100
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...
'' in 2018
*
Pro Wrestling Wave
, is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Ta ...
** TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mio Shirai
** Captain's Fall Six Person Tag Team Tournament (2009) – with Gami and Mio Shirai
** TLW World Young Women's Tag Team Tournament (2009) – with Mio Shirai
* ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
''
** Ranked No. 7 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2020
* ''
Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' ma ...
''
**
Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' magazine annually since 1974. The most publicized awards in Japanese professional wrestling, they are recognized by all the major pr ...
(2015, 2016, and 2017)
*
World Wonder Ring Stardom
World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム 女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...
**
Artist of Stardom Championship
The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...
(
6 times) – with
Mayu Iwatani
(born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-tim ...
and
Takumi Iroha
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling. She also competes in Seadlinnng, where she is a former Beyond the Sea Champion.
Iroha was trained by Fuka Kakimoto and made her debut in April 2013 fo ...
(1),
Kairi Hojo
is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom under the ring name Kairi (stylized in all caps). Housako is also known for her work with WWE as . She is the c ...
and Mayu Iwatani (1),
HZK and
Momo Watanabe
(born March 22, 2000) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Since making her debut on November 16, 2014, she became a two-time Artist of Stardom Championship, Artist of Stardom Champion, ...
(1),
AZM and HZK (2),
and HZK and
Viper
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
(1)
**
Goddess of Stardom Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion.
Title history
On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference t ...
(
1 time) – with Mayu Iwatani
**
High Speed Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was originally created on May 5, 2009, in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling promotion, where Natsuki☆Taiyo defeated Ray to becom ...
(
1 time)
**
SWA World Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Though the Japanese name of the title translates to "SWA World Championship", the title is also being internationally referred to ...
(
1 time)
**
Wonder of Stardom Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title, which in Stardom's championship hierarchy is situated as t ...
(
2 times)
**
World of Stardom Championship
The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...
(
2 times)
** 5★Star GP (2014)
** Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament (2017) – with AZM and HZK
** Goddess of Stardom Championship Tournament (2015) – with Mayu Iwatani
**
Goddesses of Stardom Tag League
The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held annually by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. It was created in 2011.
The Goddesses of Stardom Tag League are held under a multi-point ...
(2015) – with Mayu Iwatani
** Red Belt Challenger Tournament (2013)
** SWA World Championship Tournament (2016)
**
First Grand Slam Champion
** 5★Star GP Award (3 times)
*** 5★Star GP Best Match Award (2015)
vs. Mayu Iwatani on August 23
*** 5★Star GP Technique Award (2013, 2017)
** Stardom Year-End Award (8 times)
*** Best Match Award (2015)
vs. Meiko Satomura
Meiko Satomura (里村 明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...
on December 23
*** Best Match Award (2016)
vs. Mayu Iwatani on December 22
*** Best Match Award (2018)
with Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
(born on June 24, 1992), better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Stardom, JWP, Sendai Girls and various independent promotions.
Professional wrestling career Independ ...
and Hazuki is the traditional name of the month of August in the Japanese calendar and a Japanese surname and given name. It can also refer to: People with given name
*, Japanese diver
*, Japanese professional footballer
*, Japanese field hockey player
*, J ...
on June 17
*** Best Tag Team Award (2015)
with Mayu Iwatani
*** MVP Award (2013, 2014, 2016)
*** Outstanding Performance Award (2017)
*
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
**
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is the only women's tag team championship for WWE's main roster, thus is defended across bot ...
(
2 times, current) – with
Dakota Kai
Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...
**
NXT Women's Championship
The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. Introduced on April 5, 2013, t ...
(
1 time)
**
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship
The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling women's tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmental territory. The current ch ...
(
1 time) – with
Zoey Stark
Theresa Serrano (born January 25, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Zoey Stark, and is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.
Professional wrestl ...
**
Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
) – with
Kay Lee Ray
Kayleigh Rae (born 11 August 1992), better known as Kay Lee Ray, is a Scottish professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Alba Fyre.
Rae began her wrestling career in 2009 and c ...
**
NXT Year-End Award
The NXT Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy, Grammy and WWE's own Slammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers who have competed in NXT in the previous year. There have been five editions of the c ...
(3 times)
*** Future Star of NXT (
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
)
*** Female Competitor of the Year (
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
)
*** Overall Competitor of the Year (2020)
*
Other titles
** Americas World Mixed Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with
Nosawa
, better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions.
Career Early career (19952004)
Nos ...
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirai, Io
1990 births
Expatriate professional wrestlers
Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Japanese female professional wrestlers
Living people
Masked wrestlers
People from Kamakura
Sportspeople from Kanagawa Prefecture
Japanese gravure idols
NXT Women's Tag Team Champions
NXT Women's Champions
21st-century professional wrestlers
World of Stardom Champions
Goddess of Stardom Champions
Artist of Stardom Champions
High Speed Champions
SWA World Champions
WWE Women's Tag Team Champions