Top WWE Star Teases Return To Former Gimmick

A multiple-time champion teases returning to a former persona.

by Andrew Pollard
Asuka WWE
WWE

WWE's Asuka has seemingly teased returning to her Kana roots.

Taking to Twitter, the Empress of Tomorrow posted several photos from the earlier days of her career, where she competed in Japan under the Kana moniker. With Joker-esque face paint, Kana was a far darker character than what audiences have seen from the star's Asuka persona. Dubbed the Murder Clown, Kana was famed for spitting pink mist at her opponents.

Having previously mentioned on social media how she "never wanted to be respected" and doesn't "care about that", Asuka posted numerous images from her Kana days - complete with captions such as "the world is full of s**t", "Goodbye cruel world", and quotes from Mozart's The Magic Flute.

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This past Monday night saw Asuka pinned by Bayley in a triple threat offering also featuring Rhea Ripley. As a result, Bayley now goes onto face Alexa Bliss next week, with the winner of that bout earning themselves a shot at Bianca Belair's Raw Women's Championship.

Could Asuka be set to embrace a more Kana-influenced persona in the coming weeks? That remains to be seen, though many a long-time fan of the star would certainly be keen to see the hugely talented Empress veer towards a darker, more sinister personality.

 
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.