Real Reason For Asuka's Sudden WWE Departure Revealed (WWE News)
Latest on Asuka's WWE status after loss to IYO SKY and apparent farewell at Backlash 2026.
Asuka's impending time away from WWE has been attributed to "personal stuff."
Per Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful's post-Raw review show, Asuka told WWE she had "Stuff I've got to attend to" in her native Japan, where she'll be returning for an undetermined period of time.
WWE hadn't planned on her being away from television. While Asuka's request wasn't what the company wished to hear, they honoured it. Asuka is reportedly "beloved" in WWE, with sources telling Sapp "We can't speak higher of the job that she does" when people were speculating on whether or not the former Kana had been released.
Sapp stated, too, that Asuka wasn't let go by WWE outright, nor was she asked to take a pay cut.
Speculation on Asuka's future started circulating ahead of Backlash, when she posted Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' (a very literal song, lyrically) to social media. Then, after losing to SKY, she embraced her (now-former) rival in the ring, appearing to bid the live crowd a teary farewell.
On Monday's episode of Raw, Asuka met IYO in a backstage segment, telling SKY that she had been searching for somebody to take her spot. The record-breaking former NXT Women's Champion had found that person in IYO.
Asuka, 44, has been with WWE since 2015, when she became the first Japanese women's wrestler to sign with the market-leading promotion since Bull Nakano in 1994. On top of her record 510-day reign as NXT Women's Champion, she is a three-time WWE Women's Champion, former SmackDown Women's Champion, and five-time Tag Team Champion.