Io Shirai looks to take the next step in her climb to stardom this Sunday by winning the NXT Women’s Championship.
Known in NXT as “The Genius of the Sky,” Shirai reached incredible heights in Japan. By the time she signed with WWE in 2018, her list of accomplishments included two runs as World of Stardom Champion, an elite women’s promotion in Japan. The 30-year-old Shirai, whose name is Masami Odate, worked for Stardom since its inception in 2011, and during her time in the promotion, was named top women’s wrestler on three different occasions by Japanese daily newspaper Tokyo Sports.