Well, looks like the rumors are true, Io Shirai, the Genius of The Sky and my favorite Japanese wrestler, has declined a new offer WWE has made and she'll be going back to Japan when her contract expires in August.

It's a crushing shame because, Masami Odate, the woman behind the persona, given us so many memorable moments that we should all cherish when she leaves next month.

Thank you for everything, Io. You are one hell of a wrestler.

Let's look at some of the memories she's given us over the four years she's spent with WWE because it's only appropriate and worth reflecting on.

Also, I won't be putting in the moment where she yelled "WarGames". Yes, it sounded cool, but William Regal yelling sounds way better than wrestlers yelling it to get the crowd hyped up.

I'm Freedom_Fighter24, and here are "10 Best Moments of Io Shirai In NXT"

10. Her WWE Debut

Now, it might've been in the Mae Young Classic where she came up short in the whole thing, but her actual debut was when WWE was in Japan for a tour, where they announced her signing in June of 2018, the year where I turned 21. 10 + 9 = 21, kids, don't forget that.

Yes, it was a live event, but the way the fans exploded in her hometown of Tokyo, it was worth seeing her face: pure excitement and happiness to the point that she was about to cry. I mean, when she gave her little speech in Japanese about her signing, her voice was breaking as she spoke because she said, like many others, it was her dream.

It may haven't been a moment, but when you think about it, it's definitely worth listing as one because of how much of a big deal it was at the time.

9. Teaming With Kairi Sane

Kairi Sane and Io Shirai are best friends in real life and their chemistry inside the ring was iconic, but not as iconic as Billie Kay and Peyton Royce's main roster run.

Back in Japan, the two were once teammates in World Wonder Ring of Stardom, where they dominated the Joshi wrestling scene until they teamed with their then protégé Mayu Iwatani to invade Lucha Underground as a group called the Black Lotus Triad, where they dominated the field.

In NXT, Mayu wasn't with them, but seeing Kairi and Io teaming up brought back so many nostalgic memories. As the team of Sky Pirates, Io and Kairi really got the fans invested and while some of them didn't know about their history as tag partners before NXT and I don't blame them, seeing those two team up was worth watching because their chemistry is just so good, even if they had to face each other at Takeover in New York on Wrestlemania weekend in 2019 and at Survivor Series that same year.

Still, it should be a moment worth remembering before was a tag team champion, but first...

8. Shayna vs Shirai

This rivalry was the fucking best in NXT history. Their chemistry was pretty good with Shayna being an absolute monster in NXT before being called up in a year to be booked to absolute nothingness.

Their back and forth rivalry was just so delicious that deserved a chef's kiss, but the most memorable thing from that rivalry was that it featured the first ever women's match inside a steel cage. That's history making and Io Shirai had gotten to be a part of it.

Even though Shayna would win the match, you can't deny the fact that it would lead to...

7. Her Heel Turn

Io Shirai turning heel on Candice LeRae was the greatest ever and it's always awesome when a sweet and cute girl turn into a hot and sexy badass.

It was a blessing in disguise too because she was going bland as a babyface, so for Io to turn heel was what saved her career by a mile.

Her match with Candice LeRae was just so good that her psycho driven persona just worked for her so well that at one point, when Candice kicked out of a pinfall, Shirai screamed her head off. It gives me goosebumps just by thinking about it.

Her new persona wouldn't get her a chance towards the NXT Women's Championship in September, but it showed how much of a moment it was and it will be cherished for years.

6. WARGAMES!!!

Participating in three WarGames matches definitely put her on the list of favorite women wrestlers in NXT for me. I might've not been able to watch any of them, but I did see clips of Io being an absolute daredevil.

Let me break down some of the stuff she did:

- A moonsault from the top of the cage
- Leaping off the cage while wearing a trash can (look at that face before she did it, it's so adorable)

Yes, it was two moments, but seeing Shirai in a WarGames match for the first time in her career, that's about as iconic as the time my dad went rogue and my mom divorced him.

Yes, that was a joke, but that's to take our mind off of the sadness in this list, don't @ me.

5. NXT Halloween Havok (Take Your Pick)

There are some moments from NXT Halloween Havok that are worth mentioning, but let me talk about a couple:

- Taking part in a Tables, Ladders, and Scares match (yes, on some tables, there's a bag full of fake body parts for pretty good scares and whatnot)
- Io falling off a ladder with her screaming and falling onto another one (that one was so scary and I thought I was Jerry Lawler saying, "That's it, she's dead.")

Io being Champion at both times was a moment and I can say I love both of them.

Yes, this reason was short, but let's move on to the next one.

4. NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver

Ah, yes, that moment where Io leapt off the giant skull and onto Raquel Gonzalez, not Rodriguez, onto the steel grate.

I saw this live and I can't tell you how much excitement and concern I had for Io when she did this spot on national television.

Shirai is such a badass that she deserved to hold onto the NXT Women's Championship, we will get to that, do not worry, my child.

Not to mention that this isn't the only spot that happened, but it was worth pointing out.

3. I Salute You

People probably didn't notice this, but this was around the time where Kairi Sane was leaving the company back in July and it's something worth talking about.

In a tag team match between Shirai, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai, Candice and Tegan were on the outside brawling, but Io was going for the double stomp while Kai was in the tree of woe.

Before Io stomped Dakota, she did a salute before standing up on the top rope and performing the stomp.

The announcers didn't notice it, but they get a pass for not doing so because they were so invested in the match.

Unfortunately, the footage was edited out but it's on YouTube for everyone to see. It's definitely worth seeing because I have a gif of that on my phone and looking back on it makes me tear up.

2. She's Japanese, Bitch

Now, this was a month or so after Io had turned heel and was feuding with Candice, but it's definitely worth talking about because to me, she solved racism.

Before a match on NXT in 2019, Io was set to be in action before a racist fan had the balls to yell out to Io, "Go back to China!" She leaned through the ropes to hear it again and the guy said "Go back to China" once more.

Instead of being offended, Io stayed in character and said the one thing that made the fans laugh, including myself, "I'm Japanese, bitch", before doing a picture perfect split.

Yes, she's Japanese, and she can kick your ass while doing a split!

Bonus points to WWE for editing it out because they don't tolerate stuff like that, security to escort him out of Full Sail, banning him in the process, and to male fans to be entranced by how hot that split was, even I was having hearts in my eyes when that happened.

1. Championship Glory

Kairi Sane winning the title is definitely worth celebrating. Io Shirai becoming NXT Women's Champion after being in a triple threat match two months after COVID came around is surely a memorable moment.

To me, Io winning the title saved 2020 because after two long years being in NXT, Io had finally won the biggest prize in the Black and gold brand. I can't express how happy I was when she won the title and how amazing that match was.

Charlotte didn't deserve to be Champion while Ripley did, but adding Io to the mix made the match even better, that way we didn't have another boring Charlotte Flair match where she's spear, Natural Selection, and Figure 8.

At Takeover: In Your House, the first NXT Takeover since the pandemic happened, Io had overcame everything all odds and won the damn title. Her reign was so good that it deserved to be talked about as the one of the greatest Championship runs in NXT history. Sure, Asuka's reign was memorable as being the longest in NXT history, but I just think Io's reign was slightly better.

Sure, Io took the loss at Takeover: Stand And Deliver the following year, but you can't deny the fact that her run as NXT Women's Champion certainly made the pandemic feel like an afterthought.

Now that she's no longer the champion and she's leaving next month, it feels like 10 millennials ago, and it makes me feel so sad.

Io, we thank you for entertaining us for the past 4 years. You deserve every bit of love and respect from all of us fans.

Besides the fact that Io's leaving WWE, what's your favorite moment from Io Shirai? Let me know!