2-Time Champion Set For WWE Exit

A new report has indicated that a former two-time champion in WWE is on the verge of leaving the company almost imminently.

After spending 7 years in the Japanese Joshi promotion STARDOM, Io Shirai arrived in the United States to begin a new chapter of her career with WWE.

Taking part in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament, Shirai fought her way to the final only to lose out to current AEW star Toni Storm at the all-female WWE Evolution pay-per-view in the October of that year.

From there Shirai made the NXT brand her home becoming one of the key figures in the brand’s women’s division. Shirai has taken part in three War Games matches, only finding victory in her latest outing in the brutal bout in December 2021.

As part of NXT, Io Shirai has captured the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship, defeating Charlotte Flair for that belt in the summer of 2020.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, the Japanese star’s time in WWE could be coming to an end. Meltzer reports that Shrai is yet to sign a new contract with WWE and if she doesn’t do so then she will be a free agent when her current deal expires next month.

Io Shirai is said to have told friends in Japan that she wants to return home to be closer to her family but it is also said that STARDOM has no expectation for her to return to that promotion anytime soon, but that could all change if she does indeed become a free agent.