Update: 5:50 p.m. ET – Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting that Asuka is planned to take some time off from WWE, but the reasoning has nothing to do with the recent roster cuts. The Empress of Tomorrow is also planned for the May 11 edition of WWE Raw in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Original story – Asuka was overcome with emotion this past Saturday night at WWE Backlash.
Moments after her stellar match with IYO SKY came to an end, The Empress of Tomorrow locked her former protégé in a lasting embrace as tears began to well up in her eyes. She then gave several waves to the audience that had gathered in Tampa, Florida, before making her way to the back.
It felt like a goodbye. Tributes began to pop up across social media almost instantly, but days later, her status as a performer remains uncertain to many. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select says that includes several people in the locker room and on the WWE creative team.
“Everyone that Fightful spoke to does not believe Asuka has had her final match. Another unanimous response was her popularity among locker room and staff, who spoke highly of working with her, and her general performance,” Ross Sapp wrote in his report Sunday evening.
WWE was said to be very happy with Asuka’s contributions to the company over the years, with one higher up telling Ross Sapp that she was, “Always reliable no matter what was thrown her way”.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer was told over the weekend that Asuka was now semi-retired, with no other specific details provided.
Asuka recently signed a contract extension with WWE, according to reports
Asuka | WWE
If Meltzer’s report is accurate, Asuka’s semi-retirement comes on the heels of her signing a new long-term contract with WWE. Ross Sapp says she agreed to terms in the summer of 2024, but the length of that deal is unknown. Most contract extensions agreed upon during that time frame were for five years.
While the true meaning behind Asuka’s gestures toward the crowd in Tampa remain a mystery to most, multiple outlets have said that a number of people were saying their farewells to The Empress backstage at Backlash.
One person who was not at the Benchmark International Arena this past Saturday, despite being a key figure in the months-long rivalry between Asuka and IYO SKY, was Kairi Sane.
Kairi Sane | Netflix
The Pirate Princess was one of more than two dozen WWE Superstars who were released from their contracts back on April 24, ending her latest tenure with the company before a conclusion to her story could be told.
“A number of the sources we spoke to also indicated a lot of frustration around Kairi Sane’s release, but didn’t communicate if Asuka herself had expressed those frustrations,” Sean Ross Sapp said in his report. “A specific point of frustration emanated from the television time given to Asuka and Kairi without actually paying off Kairi’s part in the story.”
As of this writing, it is unclear if Sane’s situation has anything to do with what’s going on with Asuka. Mike Johnson of PWInsider has heard that she may be returning to Japan for an extended period of time to deal with an undisclosed family matter, but that has not been confirmed.
Asuka is apparently in Knoxville for Raw tonight, and is ready to appear on the show if the creative team needs her.
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