The NXT women’s division has been one of the best in the world, thanks to their insanely deep talent pool. One of the best in the group has been the ‘Genius of the Sky’ Io Shirai. Once she turned heel and embraced a manic sukeban style look, she would connect with fans and become one of the coolest people on the roster. Her week to week performances and impressive showing at NXT Takeover War Games had fans clamoring for her to be the next NXT Women’s Champion. It seemed like she would be in line for a big shot at the NXT Takeover in Tampa around Wrestlemania. These plans will be halted, as she is expected to miss at-least two months of action with a knee injury.
Io Shirai Has Injured Her Knee
On the offical NXT injury report, she has been listed as ‘day to day’ with a knee injury. She has recently been scheduled to get an MRI and tweeted out a picture of a knee brace. Considering her high flying style, it is not shocking that she would be at risk for an injury to this area. She has had some nasty landings in her career, and fans were worried she would be out for a much longer time. Given how much her popularity has surged lately, missing 6+ months would have been a terrible fate for her. Only spending a few months away shouldn’t hurt at this point. It is possible she becomes even more popular upon return.
Could She Become The Female Hideo Itami?
While Hideo has thrived again now that he is back in Japan, his career in WWE was full of misfortune. Injuries piled up whenever he would have a chance to shine, and he would never truly get going. While this is the first major injury for Io, it comes at her peak of popularity when it felt like she was on the verge of being one of the major players for the brand. If the recovery from this injury goes poorly, the parallels between her & Itami will start to pile up. Thankfully, if NXT doesn’t work out in the end, her old home of Stardom will have her back without complaint.
We here at The Overtimer wish Io Shirai a speedy recovery. Do you think she will be back in time to face Ripley at NXT Takeover Tampa? Let us know in the comment section down below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
