Happy Birthday! WWE's Asuka Turns 35 Today

Born Kanako Urai, Asuka has taken the NXT Women's Division by storm, having won NXT Women's [...]

By Lan Pitts

Asuka bio
(Photo: WWE)

Born Kanako Urai, Asuka has taken the NXT Women's Division by storm, having won NXT Women's Championship back in April from Bayley and quickly becoming one of the faces of the NXT branch overall.

While originally going to school for graphic design, Asuka left her promising career for something more challenged and was soon trained by Yuki Ishikawa in the art of professional wrestling in the early 2000's under the ring name of Kana. Having only wrestled for a few years, she stepped away due to medical issues and came back a short time after recuperating. She wrestled all over Japan in numerous promotions, getting an impressive resume before moving on to the states in 2011, capturing more than a couple of titles along the way.

In August of 2015, Asuka was shown in the audience of an NXT event and speculation immediately began that she had signed with WWE's developmental brand. Sure enough, within the week, it was confirmed that she would make her NXT debut at the next NXT program.

In just her short time, Asuka has made quite the impression with her ring entrance theatrics which is an homage to the art of Kabuki and has apparently made friends within the company, including the likes of Natalya who posted the two together earlier today.


Outside of her work in the ring, she has been published by Xbox Magazine and has designed graphics for Nintendo and even has her own hair salon in Yokohama, but given her impressive year so far, it's doubtful she'll step away from the WWE anytime soon.

Happy birthday!

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