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Update On Bayley Returning To WWE With Dakota Kai And IYO SKY

By John Canton • Published 31st July 2022
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There was a big return at WWE SummerSlam last night with Bayley coming back and she was not alone because she had Dakota Kai and IO SKY with her.

Following Bianca Belair’s victory over Becky Lynch at SummerSlam, the two women shook hands and hugged as a sign of respect. After Lynch left the ring so that Belair could celebrate her victory in front of the fans, Bayley’s music and the former Raw & Smackdown Women’s Champion made her return to WWE.

In addition to Bayley, Dakota Kai made her return to WWE. Kai was released by WWE in April when she chose not to re-sign with the company when her contract was close to expiring. However, now that there’s a new regime in WWE with Stephanie McMahon as the Chairwoman and Triple H as the Head of Creative, Kai is back in WWE. She has been part of the company on the NXT brand for the last seven years.

The duo was also joined by the new named IO SKY, who WWE fans from her successful run in NXT as Io Shirai. SKY is a former NXT Women’s Champion and also held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles as well. SKY had her contract expire recently and it was believed that she would stay in the company if there was a role for her on Raw or Smackdown. Once again it’s likely that Triple H being in charge played a factor in her return.

SKY hasn’t wrestled on WWE TV since WrestleMania 38 weekend at NXT Stand & Deliver when she competed in a fatal four-way match. SKY tweeted about her return.

Bayley has been out of action since tearing her ACL last July while training. She has been rumored to return in recent weeks after reports that she was training at the WWE Performance Center. It appears that Bayley was back in the heel role that she was doing for the past few years.

The trio of Bayley, Kai and SKY confronted Belair and Lynch in the ring. It looked like there might be a fight between the women, but Bayley’s group backed away.

It was reported by Fightful Select that this new stable with Bayley, Kai and SKY was pitched several months ago before Kai was released in April. However, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon rejected the idea, and Kai was released. Obviously, now that Triple H is running WWE Creative, she was brought back to be part of this group. Other women who were believed to be pitched for a group like this were Kay Lee Ray (now Alba Fyre in NXT) and Raquel Rodriguez.

There is no name for Bayley’s group yet, but that could be announced on WWE television in the coming week.