IYO SKY: Rhea Ripley, WrestleMania 41, Signature Emote, Trash Can Moonsault, MITB, Damage CTRL

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IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Indianapolis, IN to discuss her match of the year with Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 41, winning Money in the Bank and cashing in to become Women's Champion, the trash can dive at Survivor Series, how her pointing taunt began, future dream matches, and more!

On her love of wrestling:

“Wrestling is my life. It is hard to explain. So in combat sport, wins and losses are all that matter. However, it’s only pro wrestling where losses have a value because they shape who we are and give us a chance to turn into something special. Additionally, in pro wrestling, it is important for a character to have weaknesses.”

What are your weaknesses?

“Well, I’m small. Rhea has so much muscle, and Bianca Belair is so fast, so strong, but I’m not like that.”

So what is your strength?

“Flying high and no fear.” 

On learning English:

“So I went to English school once I got a contract with WWE, but only 30 minutes in a week, or one hour a week, or twice a week, or something like that. So it didn’t help as much, better than nothing.”

On cutting promos in English:

“Promos make me nervous, even only short lines makes me so nervous, because even backstage from everything, because we are on TV, behind the camera. So that’s why I’m always careful about speaking proper English, like now I’m pretty relaxed to speak English, sometimes even broken English, you will understand, but on camera, I have to memorize proper English.”

On a bad first match:

“I feel like I was just so embarrassed because my debut match was so bad, and maybe the audience was only 30 people, but I felt so embarrassed. So I thought I want to quit, but actually I was so frustrated as well. So maybe I have to become stronger. I have to get better to change their mind, because 30 people think Io Shirai is a bad wrestler. I want to change something like that, to become Io Shirai is not a bad wrestler. So that’s why I want to quit but I should keep until they are thinking, Io Shirai is no bad wrestler, and they just keep going, keep going, keep going. Then three years later, I become full enough to wrestle.”

On WrestleMania 41:

“Oh yeah, definitely. That is my favorite match too.”

Is that your favorite match of all time?

“I think so. Here I have a lot of favorite matches, but yeah, that is totally special to my life.”

On what the match meant to her:

“It meant so much to me, of course, also so much to Japanese people as well. Because for a long time Japanese wrestlers didn’t win at WrestleMania, even for women’s wrestling, Japanese wrestler, first time ever in WWE to win at WrestleMania. So I’m so honored, and even kind of unexpected. I walk in as a champion, walk out as a champion.”

On the backstage reaction to the match:

“I was so happy, but so honored and grateful to everyone like, of course, Bianca Belair, of course, Rhea Ripley, I’m so honored to be there with them.”

On the difference between Io Shirai and IYO SKY:

“So that’s interesting, because I was Io Shirai even in NXT. I thought when I joined WWE, I would get a new ring name, but WWE didn’t ask me, and I kept using Io Shirai. That makes me happy, but I was wondering [about it]. Then I got called up to the main roster, then that time was SummerSlam 2022. So Hunter asked, because that time was I was injured, broken ankle, almost got cleared. And then Hunter called me. ‘Are you ready to go to Raw?’ And I totally didn’t expect that, he told me with Bayley and with Dakota Kai, because she was not working with WWE. That was makes me so happy, because Bayley, Dakota and me make a new unit, oh my gosh. Then he says, please think of something new for a ring name. Oh my gosh. I don’t have any time, because maybe that was only five days before SummerSlam.  Iyo Sharai means purple thunder in Japanese. So that’s why I tried to think something when you’re hearing my name, you could imagine like a fire or like a water whatever, like a strong fist whatever. Sky, because if you hear me, if you hear Iyo Sky, you think of the sky, and you won’t forget my name. So that’s why I decided to put sky. IYO SKY, Io Sharai, both similar sounds.”

On not bringing back the moonsault stomp:

“I don’t think so, because that is too dangerous for me. I don’t want to break my ankle again. Because actually, I broke my ankle four years ago at NXT TakeOver, I did a moonsault to the outside, and there was an announce table. I hit my toe on the announcer’s table, very, very strongly. And then, oh my gosh, I thought it was completely broken, but yeah, no bad, but broken bone.”

On winning Money in the Bank with handcuffs:

“So actually the idea was Hunter’s. That’s such a cool idea, and the handcuff through that is so cool. Actually I did it in the match and tie up Bayley and Becky. Their hands, ladder was there, I look at the briefcase, I feel like that was perfect.”

On the moonsault trash can spot in WarGames:

“Yes, totally [I practiced it]. Because in my head, I think of course I can do that. Yeah, put on the trash can and do the back flip. Feels easy, but actually it is such a dangerous move. I went to the WWE Performance Center, and they have a normal trash can. I took off the plastic bag and clean up myself, and make it a little bit cleaner, and I hope nobody was watching what I’m doing. I put on my head, and I did my own practice thing. That was only from the top rope, but I made it, so that’s why I thought it should be fine from the cage. Make it double high.” 

On the trash can dive:

“I know I am crazy, that’s why I thought at that time, I won’t practice it. So I just think in my head, oh, maybe I can do that, because cross-body is my familiar move. Even putting on the trash can doesn’t make me nervous, or make me scared, or something like that. But actually, I was standing on the edge and tried to put my head in the trash can, and I realized at that time, oh my gosh, I can’t see anything. So I didn’t think about I would be blind. I just think about putting it on my head and jumping off. I didn’t think about my vision. And, of course, in the trash can it was so dark and I couldn’t see anything, and oh my gosh, I started to get scared. Wow, I might have to jump off from here. Oh my gosh. I can’t do that. Maybe I will get injured. One second, two seconds, you know, oh my gosh, I can’t. No, I have to just jump. So first time, I was so scared. But no, because camera is here, so show must go on. I have to jump off. I did it, and second time I was relaxed. I could do it because, yeah, I knew it.”

On having great chemistry with Rhea Ripley:

“I think so, because she has muscle. I’m running fast. I’m so small, but I can flip and she’s not a flipping person, like so much the opposite. So that’s why I think we have great chemistry.”

On future dream matches:

“Alexa Bliss, never had a singles match. Becky Lynch, I think [we haven’t had a singles match].”

On her signature emote:

“So when I started this emote, not like this big thing it is now. I just started something, drop kick, whatever, and then I just started this pointing at myself. ‘I did it! Look at me!’ Something like that. I started like this, and I did it two times, three times, and then the crowd reaction gets bigger, bigger, bigger, and now it becomes like this.”

On her hobbies:

“Oh, I love cats. I’m big cat person. I have two cats in Japan. One is a boy, Santo. The other one is a girl, and her name is Rayo, both of their names came from Luchadors. I like sleeping. Yeah, I like sleeping and I like eating ice cream.”

What’s your favorite flavour?

“Chocolate mint.”

What is IYO SKY grateful for?

“WWE, my family and to you.”

Quotes have been edited for clarity.

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