WWE: 5 potential dream matches for Io Shirai

Photo: WWE.com

Now that Io Shirai, one of the best female wrestlers on the planet, has joined WWE, these are five women that standout as potential opponents for her.

Earlier this year, WWE added yet another world-class wrestler to their already impressive collection of talent when the company signed Joshi star Io Shirai to a developmental deal. Of course, the former Stardom standout doesn’t have much to develop in terms of her workrate, as she is one of the smoothest female grapplers in the industry. If you don’t believe me, watch these matches. You will be swayed.

The company has already announced her as one of the participants in the second annual Mae Young Classic — where she is considered one of the favorites in what looks like a much stronger field than last year’s tournament. Once that wraps up, she’ll head down to NXT, where she will likely oscillate between having standout matches with the more seasoned ladies and carrying the greener talent to watchable bouts. Either way, everyone will benefit from working with the former two-time World of Stardom Champion.

When fans caught wind of the Shirai signing, I would guess that most of them weren’t thinking to themselves “Gee, I can’t wait to see her carry Alexa Bliss/Carmella/Lana/Vanessa Bourne to a passable match”. Many of them were probably losing their minds fathoming the possible dream bouts she could have in NXT and eventually the main roster.

With easily the most talented women’s roster in company history, there is no shortage of quality opponents for Shirai. For the purposes of this article, however, I will pare it down to these five women.

Honorable Mentions: Bayley, Mickie James, Natalya, Deonna Purrazzo, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch