ASUKA

In 2019, Asuka teamed with NXT’s Kairi Sane to become the tag team known as The Kabuki Warriors. In September 2019, the Kabuki Warriors captured the Women’s Tag Team Championship from Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. The Kabuki Warriors defended their titles successfully until Wrestlemania 36 when they lost to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. Their reign lasted 181 days.

Asuka: Money in the Bank Winner

At the Women’s Money in the Bank match in 2020, Asuka won the Money in the Bank contract. On the RAW episode immediately following the pay-per-view event, Becky Lynch announced that she was vacating the title due to pregnancy thus making Asuka the new RAW Women’s Champion.

Asuka lost the title the week of Extreme Rules 2020 to Sasha Banks. But at SummerSlam, she defeated Banks to win back the RAW Women’s Championship.

Asuka & Flair’s Tag Team Championship

On December 20, 2020, Asuka teamed with Charlotte Flair to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. Together, they defeated Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler at the pay-per-view event, TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs).

Asuka was originally meant to partner with Lana but she was pulled from the match days before the event for a ‘kayfabe’ injury. Asuka’s tag team title win at TLC with Charlotte is historic as she is the first female WWE Superstar to hold tag team gold with two different partners in WWE since Velvet McIntyre did it in 1984.

At the 2021 Royal Rumble, Asuka and Charlotte Flair lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships back to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. On April 11, 2021, Asuka lost the WWE RAW Women’s Championship to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 37. Asuka’s reign lasted 231 days. On the RAW episode after WrestleMania, Asuka faced Ripley for the title in a rematch the result was a no-contest because Charlotte Flair attacked both Asuka and Ripley.

On the May 3rd episode of RAW, another rematch between Ripley and Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship was scheduled for WrestleMania Backlash. Later that night, WWE official Sonya Deville added Flair to the championship match to make it a triple threat match. At the event, Asuka was unsuccessful to win the title and was pinned by Ripley.

In June, Asuka and Naomi qualified for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating Eva Marie and Doudrop. But at the event, Asuka was not successful. That ended up being her last match in 2021 as she was injured.

Return from Injury

During the 2021 WWE Draft, Asuka was not drafted and was declared a free agent. But, after nine months of inactivity due to her recovery, she made her return on the April 25, 2022, episode of RAW confronting Becky Lynch. On the May 9 episode of RAW, WWE official Adam Pearce gave her a championship contender’s match against RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair. Lynch became upset and later attacked both of them during their match.

The following week, Asuka defeated Becky Lynch using green mist and earned a title match for the Raw Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell. Lynch defeated Asuka in a rematch on the next episode of RAW and she was added to the title match. At the event, Belair retained her title.^[

On the June 20th episode of RAW, Asuka defeated Lynch to qualify for the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match. At Money in the Bank, she was unsuccessful in winning the match.

Asuka and Alexa Bliss Win Tag Team Titles

On the October 31st episode of RAW, Asuka and Alexa Bliss defeated women’s tag team champions Dakota Kai and IYO SKY in a title match and won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship titles. Five days later at WWE’s Crown Jewel 2022, Asuka and Alexa Bliss lost the titles to Damage CTRL. At Survivor Series WarGames, the team of Asuka, Belair, Bliss, Lynch, and Mia Yim defeated the team of Damage CTRL, Cross, and Ripley in a WarGames match.

In January 2023, after a brief hiatus, Asuka returned and participated in the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble match with a new look, more reminiscent of her Kana character. She finished in third place, being eliminated by eventual winner Rhea Ripley. At Elimination Chamber the following month, she defeated Carmella, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Nikki Cross, and Raquel Rodriguez in an Elimination Chamber match to earn a RAW Women’s Championship match against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39. This also made her the first and only woman to win the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, and Elimination Chamber matches.

Asuka Drafted to SmackDown

As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Asuka was drafted to the SmackDown brand. She appeared on the May 12th episode of SmackDown and used her green mist to attack Belair. Their feud led to a title rematch at Night of Champions, where Asuka defeated Belair to win the RAW Women’s Championship for the third time. On the June 9th episode of SmackDown, the title was renamed to the WWE Women’s Championship. Asuka was presented a brand-new championship design before being interrupted by Charlotte Flair. Charlotte challenged Asuka to a title match, which Asuka accepted and won via disqualification after Belair attacked her. At SummerSlam, Asuka lost the title to Belair in a triple threat match also involving Flair, ending her third reign at 70 days. She then failed to regain the title against Sky and Flair in a triple threat match at Fastlane.

During a six-woman tag team match that teamed Asuka with Belair and Flair against Damage CTRL, Asuka turned on her teammates to reunite with Kairi Sane while joining Damage CTRL. At Survivor Series WarGames, Damage CTRL lost to Belair, Flair, Lynch, and Shotzi in a WarGames match.

Kabuki Warriors Strike Gold

On the January 26, 2024 episode of SmackDown, Asuka and Sane, competing as the Kabuki Warriors, defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship for the second time (Asuka’s record-setting fourth reign individually).

Asuka and Sane went on to retain their titles against Chance and Carter on the February 5th episode of RAW. At Elimination Chamber: Perth, they retained against Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell during their match at the kickoff show. At NXT Roadblock on March 5th, Asuka and Sane defeated Tatum Paxley and NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria to retain their titles. On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL, Damage CTRL (Asuka, Sane, and Kai) were defeated by Belair, Naomi, and Jade Cargill in a six-woman tag team match. At the 2024 WWE Draft, Asuka (as apart of Damage CTRL) was drafted to the RAW brand.

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