There continues to be plenty of speculation surrounding Asuka’s WWE status following her loss to IYO SKY at WWE Backlash.
After the match, Asuka shared an emotional moment with SKY that many interpreted as a possible farewell, leading to widespread reports and backstage discussion regarding her future. However, there still appears to be uncertainty internally about whether the moment was meant to signal a full goodbye, a temporary hiatus, or something in between.
While there have been conflicting reports ranging from semi-retirement to time away for personal reasons, one consistent belief backstage is that Asuka has not wrestled her final match.
People within WWE reportedly spoke very highly of Asuka, both professionally and personally, with many praising her reliability and overall body of work.
One higher-up within the company reportedly described her as “always reliable no matter what was thrown her way” over the past year, adding that WWE has been extremely happy with her performances.
Asuka is also said to have signed a new long-term WWE contract during the summer of 2024. While the exact length of the deal is unknown, many contracts signed during that period were believed to be around five years in length.
Even with uncertainty surrounding her immediate future, there were reportedly several farewell-type interactions backstage and on social media following the match, which added even more confusion to the situation.
Another topic that reportedly caused frustration among some backstage was the release of Kairi Sane. There was said to be disappointment over the amount of television time invested into the pairing of Asuka and Kairi without ultimately delivering a payoff to Kairi’s side of the storyline.
As of now, there still does not appear to be complete clarity internally regarding what Asuka’s status will look like moving forward.
(H/T: Fightful Select)
