Asuka’s future with WWE appears to be in significant doubt following her loss to IYO SKY at Backlash, with Dave Meltzer reporting that the 11-year veteran is semi-retired and that wrestlers were saying goodbye to her backstage at the event.
Meltzer addressed the situation on Wrestling Observer Radio following Backlash, revealing what he had heard but acknowledging he does not have full clarity on what semi-retired means in practical terms.
“So, the story I heard is that she is semi-retired. I haven’t really gotten an exact meaning of what semi-retired means, but I guess people were wishing her goodbye and things like that backstage. So I don’t know if that means she’s going to Japan and still wrestle. I don’t know if that means she’s going to still do stuff here and there, but I was told semi-retired,” Meltzer said.
Bryan Alvarez offered his personal reaction to the news.
“That sucks, I’m going to miss Asuka,” Alvarez said.
Later in the show, Meltzer and Alvarez raised the possibility that Asuka could have been part of the recent WWE roster cuts, though neither could confirm it.
“I wonder if she was with other people that was cut. I mean, I don’t know,” Meltzer said.
“I can’t fathom that but I guess it’s possible. But I mean, Kairi was cut and she didn’t even get used to the end of this thing, so,” Alvarez responded.
The Backlash match itself ended with a notable moment, as Asuka embraced IYO SKY after months of feuding between the two, providing a touching conclusion to a program that had lost its intended payoff following Kairi Sane’s release.
Asuka, 44, has been with WWE since the summer of 2015. During her eleven-year tenure she became a four-time main roster women’s champion, a one-time NXT Women’s Champion, a five-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, the 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble winner, and the 2020 Women’s Money in the Bank winner.
