Io Shirai to be a free agent next month after no new deal signed

[Liz]

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that former NXT Women's champion Io Shirai has not signed a new WWE deal and as things stand she will be a free agent come August.

The belief is that the talented Japanese performer will be returning home and will not be sticking around in NXT. She has not wrestled for the brand since April's Stand and Deliver show during WrestleMania weekend although she did suffer an undisclosed injury afterward.

The 32-year-old has been signed to WWE since 2017 after spending seven years working for World Wonder Ring Stardom in her native home of Japan. She is a one-time NXT Women's champion and one-time NXT Women's Tag Team champion and for the past five years she has remained part of NXT and never was called up to the main roster.