IYO SKY Faces Nikkita Lyons At NXT Live Event, Fuels Return Speculation

IYO SKY made a notable appearance away from the main roster over the weekend, squaring off with Nikkita Lyons at an NXT live event in Greensboro, North Carolina on Saturday, September 27. The match came at a time when the former WWE Women’s Champion has been largely absent from any real direction on Raw or SmackDown, and it was enough to get fans and pundits buzzing about where SKY could turn next.

SKY has spent much of 2026 without a clear program on the main roster, a strange spot for a former multi-time champion who was, not long ago, one of the most featured women in WWE. Her presence at a developmental live event — even in a one-off capacity — has reignited chatter about whether NXT could be a landing spot to reset her momentum, at least temporarily, while WWE figures out her next chapter on Raw or SmackDown.

That live event appearance lines up with a handful of storylines currently unfolding in NXT that could make sense as future dance partners for SKY. Kelani Jordan, who has racked up an unusually stacked résumé by capturing the TNA Knockouts Championship, the NXT Women’s North American Championship, and now the NXT Women’s Championship — the latter won from Kendal Grey at NXT Heatwave — has a legitimate claim to being mentioned among the best in NXT women’s history. A confrontation or even just a war of words with SKY, one of the most decorated women to ever come through the brand, would be an easy way to validate that claim and give both women a natural hook.

Kendal Grey herself is also worth watching. Since dropping the NXT Women’s Championship to Jordan, WWE has been building a confidence-crisis angle around her on NXT television, framing her as a rising star trying to rediscover her footing. A high-profile test against someone of SKY’s caliber — regardless of outcome — is the kind of measuring-stick opportunity that could either restore her swagger or deepen the doubt, and either direction would make for compelling television.

Then there’s La Catalina, who crossed paths with SKY just this week in a Money in the Bank qualifying match on Raw that also included Roxanne Perez. Catalina has been putting in serious mileage lately, appearing at Triplemanía, on Raw, and on NXT programming all within the same stretch. If she continues showing up on the developmental brand, NXT would be a fitting neutral ground for her and SKY to settle their business one-on-one, building off the brief tease from Raw.

None of this confirms SKY is headed to NXT full-time, and WWE hasn’t signaled any long-term creative plan for her beyond this weekend’s live event. But the timing is notable — a former top titleholder drifting on the main roster showing up in developmental is often the first breadcrumb toward something bigger, whether that’s a storyline retool, a fresh feud, or simply a chance for her to stay sharp while creative sorts out her next act. For now, all eyes stay on how WWE chooses to use one of its most accomplished women’s wrestlers next.