IYO SKY chats her return from injury and being on the main roster.
Following the Raw Women’s Championship match between Becky Lynch and champion Bianca Belair at SummerSlam, both talents were confronted by the trio of Bayley, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai.
At WWE Clash at the Castle on September 3rd, SKY, Kai and Bayley are taking on Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss in a six-woman tag match. Ahead of the bout, Tokyo Sports pushed out their interview with SKY. She had been sidelined with an injury she suffered at NXT Stand & Deliver.
SKY said she broke her right ankle doing a moonsault and had to undergo surgery. She now has one bolt in her ankle to hold the bone in place.
When I did the moonsault outside the ring [in the Fatal 4-Way at Stand & Deliver], I hit my foot on the announcer’s table and broke my right ankle and had to have surgery. I was referred to a ‘master ankle surgeon’ in Alabama, who is a WWE-affiliated doctor. Now I have one bolt in to hold the bone in place. I was unable to put any weight on my right leg for about a month, and I had to use a crutch and a wheelchair. It took me about three months to be able to put my full weight on it.
I was very anxious. My style is to run and jump, so… The muscles in my right leg also got smaller, and I vaguely wondered if my career was going to be OK.
When asked about her arrival to the main roster, SKY said her life has changed in a positive way. She added that she has been so busy that she does not know how much time has passed. SKY feels that the bond between herself, Bayley and Dakota is strong and they trained together in Orlando before their on-screen returns.
My life has changed in a good way. It’s been less than a month (since my promotion), but I’ve been so busy that I don’t even know how much time I’ve spent [on the main roster] (laughs).
All three of us [SKY, Bayley & Dakota Kai] made our comeback to the ring at the same time, although in different situations, so we have a strong bond. In fact, the three of us practiced together in Orlando (Florida) before our return, including the link-up.
When she joined WWE’s main roster, she transitioned from ‘Io Shirai’ to ‘IYO SKY’. She addressed the name change and explained why she feels it is easier to understand now.
I think the previous name conveys an image to Japanese people through the Chinese characters, but that is not the case in the United States. I think it is a good name because the ‘SKY’ in it conveys the image. The first letter of ‘Io’ was capitalized and the second letter was lower-case. So it looked like a lower-case L and O, or like a number, and some people misread it. Now it’s all capitalized (IYO) which I think makes it easier to understand.
This coming Monday on Raw, IYO and Dakota are going to be competing for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Their opponents in the tournament final for the vacant belts will be determined on the 8/26 Friday Night SmackDown.
