Io Shirai Says She Was Set to Be in Royal Rumble Before She Was Hurt

Io Shirai says that before she was injured, she was supposed to compete in the Royal Rumble match this year. Shirai spoke with Tokyo Sports (h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the translation) and said that her injury during a match with Toni Storm on the January 22nd episode of NXT knocked her out of the Rumble match.

“I had a match with Toni Storm before the Royal Rumble, when Storm hit a tope to me at outside of the ring, my knee had bent to the wrong direction,” Shirai said. “I was scheduled to participate (in the) Royal Rumble, but I was so frustrated that I (couldn’t) participate.”

Shirai said of the injury, “The medial collateral ligament of the right knee was damaged. The medical staff said, ‘It’s bad and the recovery time is 3-4 months,’ but I thought it would be possible in a month. It took me two months to come back, but I was surprised at how fast the recovery was.”

Shirai made her return in March and is set to face Charlotte Flair for the title on this week’s episode of NXT.