WWE: Where is Asuka?
Asuka has not wrestled a match in WWE since the 2021 Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match on July 18. She has since been recovering from a shoulder injury, posting a photo of herself with her arm in a sling last August. There were some rumors about her possibly returning as a surprise Women's Royal Rumble entrant back in January, but that never came to pass. PWInsider's Mike Johnson recently wrote that there were hopes of her returning at some point in February, but WWE's creative team had nothing planned for her in the short term.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select added a few more details to that on Wednesday, noting that "The Empress" is still on WWE's internal inactive list. A source told him that the company is optimistic about her being back at some point in the Spring.
Whenever she does come back, the Grand Slam Champion will have a ready-made feud with Becky Lynch ready to go. Lynch famously gave Asuka the Raw Women's Championship back in 2020 (secretly putting it inside the Women's Money in the Bank briefcase that Asuka won the night before) on the same night she announced she was pregnant with her first child. By the time Lynch returned at SummerSlam, Asuka was already on her hiatus and hasn't been around for Lynch's "Big Time Becks" heel run. Lynch is defending that Raw Women's Championship against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38, whom she originally beat for the gold via her heel turn at SummerSlam.
Check out the updated lineup for WrestleMania 38 below! The two-night event takes place on April 2-3 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX.
WrestleMania Saturday (April 2)
- SmackDown Women's Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey
- Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair
- Dominik & Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz & Logan Paul
WrestleMania Sunday (April 3)
WWE Championship and Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
Additional Matches
- Edge vs. AJ Styles
- WWE Women's Tag Team Championships: Carmella & Queen Zelina vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi
- Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville (Rumored)
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens (Rumored)
- Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee (Rumored)
