Bayley, Dakota Kai, Io Shirai return at WWE SummerSlam

With Paul “Triple H” Levesque now in charge of creative, the WWE women’s division has been bolstered.

Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Io Shirai (now going by the name IYO SKY) all made their returns at SummerSlam on Saturday night. They took part in an angle where they confronted Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair.

Belair retained her title against Becky Lynch in the opening match of SummerSlam. The returning Bayley then made her way out but stopped at ringside. She was joined by Kai and then Shirai before entering the ring. Bayley, Kai, and Shirai went face-to-face with Belair, but Lynch then stood side-by-side with Belair. That led to Bayley, Kai, and Shirai backing off.

Before Bayley, Kai, and Shirai appeared, Lynch showed respect to Belair by shaking her hand after their match ended.

This was Bayley’s first appearance on WWE television since suffering a torn ACL in July 2021. The injury happened right before WWE returned to touring in front of live crowds.

Kai was released by WWE this April as part of a round of NXT roster cuts. She had taken part in main roster dark matches prior to her release but was never called up to the main roster while Vince McMahon was in charge.

Tonight was also Shirai’s call-up to the main roster. She had been out of action since April due to an injury. Dave Meltzer reported earlier this month that Shirai’s WWE contract was set to expire soon and she hadn’t signed a new deal at that point. Meltzer added that “those who know [Shirai] from Japan said she went to WWE with the goal of making the main roster and believe she would stay with a main roster deal.”

Levesque tweeted “…and we’re just getting started” after Bayley, Kai, and Shirai appeared at SummerSlam.