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ASUKA RETURNS

By Mike Johnson on 2022-04-25 21:30:00

After nine months out of the ring, Asuka made her return to World Wrestling Entertainment TV tonight, confronting Becky Lynch on Raw to set up a new program between the two.

Initially debuting in Japan back in 2004 for the AtoZ promotion, Asuka had wrestled for every major joshi puroresu promotion at the time, including JWP, Smash, Pro Wrestling Wave and many more.  She signed with WWE in 2015, becoming the first Japanese female wrestler to sign with the company since Bull Nakano in the 1990s and quickly debuted on WWE NXT TV.

Asuka's run as the NXT Women's Champion, at 510 days, remains the longest title run for any performer who has carried that belt.  She was called to the main roster in 2017, winning the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match in 2018 and having a long undefeated streak through Wrestlemania 34, where she lost to Charlotte Flair in New Orleans.

She had an extremely successful WWE run that saw her win the Raw Women's Championship twice, the Smackdown Women's Championship, hold the WWE Women's Tag Team titles with both Charlotte Flair and with Kairi Sane and even winning the 2020 Women's Money in the Bank match that was held at WWE HQ in Stamford, CT.

Asuka had been out of action with a shoulder injury since the 2021 Money in the Bank ladder match.  She had been cleared to go for some time and taken off internal injury lists, but hadn't been used as the company was holding her out for the post-Wrestlemania season.

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