IYO SKY Had Very Little Time to Change WWE Ring Name

IYO SKY has been a major force on WWE’s main roster since her debut at SummerSlam 2022, but what fans didn’t know is that her name change from Io Shirai to IYO SKY came together at the very last minute.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, SKY explained that she thought WWE might give her a new ring name when she joined NXT, but they never did. She continued using Io Shirai until she was called up to the main roster—when things suddenly changed.

“So that’s interesting because I was Io Shirai even in NXT. I thought when I joined WWE, I’d get a new ring name—but WWE didn’t ask me. So I kept using Io Shirai. I was wondering, okay, Io Shirai works in WWE, no problem. But when I got called up to the main roster, that’s when Hunter talked to me. At that time, I was injured with a broken ankle and was almost cleared. He asked me, ‘Are you ready to go to RAW?’ I didn’t expect that. Then he told me to go with Bayley and Dakota Kai, because Bayley wasn’t working in WWE at that time.”

That’s when Triple H told her to come up with a new name—but gave her almost no time to do it.

“Then he said, ‘Oh, please make a new ring name.’ But I had no time—it was only five days before SummerSlam. I had less than a week to change my name.”

SKY explained how she wanted to carry over the same kind of strength and imagery from her original name. The “Shirai” part of her name means “purple thunder” in Japanese, and she wanted something equally strong but easy to picture.

“The ‘Shirai’ part of my name means ‘purple thunder’ in Japanese, so I started thinking of something that people could imagine when they hear my name—something like fire, water, or air. That’s how I came up with ‘Sky.’ Because when you hear ‘IYO SKY,’ you instantly think of the sky—you won’t forget my name.”

The choice ended up paying off, as fans have embraced the name and now see IYO SKY as one of WWE’s most unique and recognizable stars. Her name may have been chosen under pressure, but it has become a defining part of her identity.

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