A new report has provided further details on the WWE status of Asuka, following an emotional segment on Raw.
The former WWE Women’s Champion embraced IYO SKY two days after facing defeat at Backlash, with Michael Cole later stating Asuka’s future was “up in the air.”
On the Raw post-show, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful gave the following details on the situation, confirming the time off was not part of the recent WWE roster cuts after WrestleMania 42:
I found out definitively what’s going on, and I don’t want to miscredit the person who said it but the person who said there’s personal stuff going on, that’s accurate. I don’t want to elaborate on what that is but I was straight up told tonight she was not a part of any cuts. She wasn’t asked to take a pay cut as best I know. She signed a new deal in 2024. It was a multi-year deal.
Obviously, WWE did not want to have Asuka be gone for a while, so to speak. Here’s what I heard, Asuka had approached WWE and said, ‘Stuff I’ve got to attend to.’ It’s back in Japan, she’s going to be spending some time there. I don’t know how much time that’s gonna be.
Obviously, it’s not what WWE wanted to hear but it’s something that they felt was important to honour and all that. Asuka is beloved in that company. When people naturally were like, ‘Was she cut? Was she asked to take a pay cut?’ a number of people hit me up and they’re like, ‘Man, we can’t speak higher of the job that she does.’
The roster cuts included Kairi Sane, who had a significant role in the storyline between SKY and Asuka prior to her departure.