Asuka's WWE Status A "Mystery" After Semi-Retired Rumors (WWE News)
Backstage update on Asuka's WWE future after Backlash 2026 loss to IYO SKY.
Asuka's WWE future is a "mystery" following her defeat to IYO SKY at Backlash 2026, and subsequent "farewell" angle.
Fightful Select reports that the WWE locker room isn't sure of Asuka's status following the SKY match, after which an emotional 'Empress of Tomorrow' embraced her rival, then offered a teary wave. The outlet also notes that people involved in the creative process weren't sure whether this was intended as a "goodbye."
There was a unanimous belief among Fightful's sources that Asuka, who was praised for "always [being] reliable no matter what was thrown her way", has not wrestled her last match.
Contractually, the former NXT Women's Champion's future isn't known. Asuka signed a long-term WWE extension in 2024, when five-plus-year deals were commonplace, but her deal's length was never disclosed.
Several WWE wrestlers paid tribute to Asuka on social media following Backlash, including SKY, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Asuka's tag team partner, Kairi Sane, was released by WWE on 24 April, before their long-running tension storyline could be paid off. According to Fightful, there is no word on whether or not Asuka was among those frustrated by the situation.
Previously, the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that Asuka was "semi-retired" after Backlash. What, exactly, "semi-retired" means isn't clear, with Meltzer guessing that people were "wishing her goodbye and things like that backstage."
Asuka, 44, has been with WWE since September 2015, when she became the first Japanese women's wrestler to sign with the market-leading promotion since Bull Nakano in 1994.