Asuka’s future in wrestling may be changing in a major way.
Following her loss to IYO SKY at WWE Backlash on Saturday night, Asuka shared an emotional embrace with her former mentee after the two spent months feuding on WWE television.
During the post-Backlash episode of Wrestling Observer Radio at F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer revealed that he has heard Asuka is considered “semi-retired,” although the exact meaning behind the term remains unclear at this time.
“So, the story I heard is that she is semi-retired. I haven’t really gotten an exact meaning of what semi-retired means, but I guess people were wishing her goodbye and things like that backstage,” Meltzer stated. “So I don’t know if that means she’s going to Japan and still wrestle. I don’t know if that means she’s going to still do stuff here and there, but I was told semi-retired.”
The news prompted a reaction from Bryan Alvarez, who responded, “That sucks, I’m going to miss Asuka.”
Later in the discussion, Meltzer and Alvarez also speculated about whether Asuka could have potentially been included among WWE’s recent roster cuts.
“I wonder if she was with other people that was cut. I mean, I don’t know,” Meltzer said.
Alvarez replied, “I can’t fathom that but I guess it’s possible. But I mean, Kairi was cut and she didn’t even get used to the end of this thing, so.”
Asuka, 44, signed with WWE in the summer of 2015 and went on to become one of the most decorated women’s wrestlers of the modern era, capturing multiple championships across WWE’s main roster and NXT brands.
私たちの物語は、今日の試合で最終章。
試合が終わった瞬間、いろんな感情で胸がいっぱいになりました。ASUKAさんと出会えたこと、
同じ時間を過ごせたこと、
近くでたくさんのことを学べたこと
私にとってかけがえのない宝物です。Thank you so much ASUKA-San
We love you ASUKA-San❣️… pic.twitter.com/VMBGxH6m4N
— IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) May 10, 2026
