The Royal Rumble match earlier this year saw a number of NXT stars making their presence felt and the stars that got a moment to shine include people like Bianca Belair, Shayna Baszler and Keith Lee.
However, during a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, NXT star Io Shirai revealed that she was actually scheduled to compete in the Battle Royal earlier this year.
Shirai revealed that she was pulled from the match because she suffered an injury while competing in a match with Toni Storm before the PPV in January:
“I had a match with Toni Storm before Royal Rumble, when Storm hit a tope to me at outside of the ring, my knee had bent to the wrong direction. I was scheduled to participate (in the) Royal Rumble, but I was so frustrated that I (couldn’t) participate.”
Io Shirai returned from the injury in March and in April, she became the number one contender for Charlotte Flair’s NXT Women’s Championship after winning a ladder match.
The NXT star defeated Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, Mia Yim, Dakota Kai, and Chelsea Green to earn the opportunity and she will be challenging the Queen for her title at this week’s episode of the Black and Yellow brand
