It was reported earlier this year by the Wrestling Observer that one of the best female Japanese wrestlers on the planet was coming over to WWE this year. Io Shirai was rumored to be joining the company soon, and she even announced her intentions to leave the Stardom promotion in Japan ealier this year. Unfortunately, that all changed when WWE conducted medical tests and reportedly discovered that Shirai has some neck issues. 411 Mania now claims that Io will be returning to Stardom and WWE has not signed her to a contract. The company has a policy which states that they do not want to bring in athletes who have had serious injuries, such as neck issues, in the past.
On an episode of Smackdown from a few weeks back, Chris Jericho made a surprise return and competed for the United States Championship. However, he did not appear on Smackdown the following week. As far as Jericho’s status goes, it is now being reported that his Smackdown appearance from a few weeks ago was just a one-time deal. He is scheduled to continue touring with his band Fozzy and he isn’t scheduled for any WWE events going forward. This had added speculation that the Battleground match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens was botched since the idea was that Jericho coming back would allows Owens to lose the United States Championship without being pinned.
As promised, Paige and Alberto El Patron did appear on the Busted Open Radio show to discuss some of the recent controversies that have landed them in the news. Patron admitted that he will be returning to GFW at some point, but he doesn’t know exactly when. He’s hoping to be back by the next set of tapings in late-August. Meanwhile, Paige also joined the show to update fans on her return to WWE. She said that she doesn’t know when she is coming back, but promises that it should be soon. She said that she recently underwent a CT scan and she is awaiting to hear from doctors to officially receive clearance.