Backstage News On SummerSlam Returns, Name Change Note

As noted, during tonight's WWE SummerSlam event, Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Io Shirai made their returns after the WWE "Raw" Women's Title match with champion Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch.

The three would come out to confront Belair, but Lynch would return to the ring to give her backup.

Advertisement

There are several backstage updates about the returns of Bayley, Kai, and Shirai.

Io Shirai will now be going by the ring name, Iyo Sky according to PWInsider. 

According to Fightful Select, Sky's contract was set to expire soon and there had been no creative plans for her in NXT after her injury. WWE officials couldn't confirm a new contract had been signed beyond saying, "it appears so."  Shirai has not been in the WWE ring since WWE WrestleMania 38 weekend when she competed in a fatal four-way match against Mandy Rose, Cora Jade, and Kay Lee Ray (now known as Alba Fyre) at "NXT" Stand And Deliver.

Bayley had been training at the WWE Performance Center and Flatbacks for weeks in preparation for her return to the ring, according to Fightful Select. She had been sidelined since July 2021 with a torn ACL.

Advertisement

Fightful Select also reported that Kai was a name that several people in the company thought Triple H would make a priority to bring back since he is now that he is the head of creative. Before she was released in April, Kai had several main roster looks. AEW talks were said to never move past an introduction.

It was also noted by Fightful Select that this new stable with Bayley, Sky, and Kai was pitched quite a while ago and it was before Kai was first released in April. Vince McMahon had reportedly rejected the idea. There were other versions pitched that include Kay Lee Ray and Raquel Rodriguez.

Ongoing live coverage of tonight's SummerSlam event is available here. 

Comments

Recommended