If you watched RAW, you may have caught a change in plans, and it turns out that Asuka was pulled from Queen of the Ring with a legitimate injury.
Read More: Has Asuka Suffered from Women’s Tag Title Curse?
It was an eventful few days for the member of Damage CTRL. First, she and Kairi Sane dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles as part of Backlash in France. Following the defeat, initial Queen of the Ring brackets had Asuka taking on Lyra Valkyria in the first round. But, when RAW came on, we learned of a change. Only three members of Damage CTRL went down to the ring. Asuka was not with the group. Dakota Kai used her mic time to confirm that her stablemate is injured, and that it would be Dakota stepping into her spot.
Now, anyone who follows professional wrestling knows that not every injury is a legitimate one. Honestly, having Dakota Kai in line to become Queen of the Ring would have made a ton of sense in any case. But, we can confirm, thanks to Fightful, that Asuka was pulled from the Queen of the Ring tournament because of a legitimate injury. It was noted that she was at the show backstage, but due to the injury she did not appear.
How bad?
What currently remains unknown is the nature and severity of the injury. Further, it isn’t yet known if the injury was something that drove WWE to make a title change. Honestly though, going into Backlash, I figured Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill were more than likely going over-which they did.
One can’t help but wonder about the injury. We know that she was missing house shows earlier in 2024. Is this latest development connected? That much seems to be less wild speculation and more of a decent probability. For now, it was at least clear to WWE that the Empress of Tomorrow would not be able to work in any tournament matches. As such, she was pulled and her friend Dakota took the loss in her place. You hope Asuka does not miss too much time, and whatever the case is, she has a speedy recovery.
