IYO SKY on career-changing move she considered before making her main roster debut at SummerSlam

Reports about IYO SKY wanting to depart WWE earlier this summer appear to be true.

The former Io Shirai was in the news this summer when Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that she already had one foot out the door with WWE and would be returning home to Japan when her current deal expired. But Triple H taking over as head of creative on the WWE main roster changed all that.

Bayley, IYO SKY and Dakota Kai were the latest guests on WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves. When asked about her main roster debut at SummerSlam, SKY revealed that she had almost departed the company and returned to Japan prior to this group being formed:

“I’ve been here four years, I came here to the United States in 2018. And now to 2022, I spend time in the wild pandemic, here that was very tough for my life, because I came here by myself," IYO SKY said. "I buy myself everything. So yeah, honestly, I don’t have family in here. That sometimes makes my mental health go down, that time is so tough and I tried to think, should I stay here more or not?” [H/T: Inside The Ropes]

How quickly did @ImKingKota's return to WWE come together? Find out as Dakota, @itsBayleyWWE & @shirai_io join @WWEGraves and @VicJosephWWE on #AfterTheBell! Listen now on @Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

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IYO SKY's injury following NXT Stand & Deliver this year gave her time to reflect on things

SKY's WWE main roster debut was a long time coming, and had Vince McMahon remained in power, it likely would never have happened.

The former NXT Women's Champion suffering an injury at NXT Stand & Deliver earlier this year could have very well been her last appearance for the company if the shift in management hadn't occurred when it did.

Speaking with Corey Graves, SKY said:

“I got injured, and I had surgery, that time is thinking about my life again. So that’s why, yeah, sometimes I think, ‘Oh, if I have family here’, or you know, ‘If I have family, it will make my mentality more stable’ So it helped me a lot. So that’s why yeah, honestly, I tried to think that a lot of times, especially right before SummerSlam.” [H/T: Inside The Ropes]

That feeling when you're 1️⃣ win away from becoming a WWE Women's Tag Champion

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What do you make of SKY's comments? Are you happy that she decided to remain with WWE instead of heading back to Japan? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

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