“I had been hurting for a while,” Top Raw Superstar confirms taking time off to address NAGGING knee injury

Asuka recently lost her tag team titles to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill at Backlash.

“I had been hurting for a while,” Top Raw Superstar confirms taking time off to address NAGGING knee injury

Raw (via WWE)

Asuka was supposed to take part in the Queen of the Ring tournament matches. She was even scheduled to fight Lyra Valkyria in the first round. However, her Damage CTRL team member, Dakota Kai, replaced her, announcing that The Empress of Tomorrow had an injury. Asuka has now provided an update about her status on social media.

The Japanese veteran uploaded a video on her YouTube channel to address the issue with her fans. Asuka stated that she was indeed taking some time off to recover from her knee injury. After losing their tag team titles to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill at Backlash, she was notably absent from programming. The 42-year-old star didn’t forget to thank Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane for supporting her throughout the European tour.

YouTube video

Well, talking about her replacement in the Queen of the Ring tournament, Kai was unfortunately eliminated after losing to Lyra Valkyria. Many fans would have liked to see Asuka win the tournament; however, that wasn’t meant to happen due to her knee injury. She had been enjoying a decent run with her partner Sane as the Women’s Tag Team Champions, holding the titles for almost 100 days.

FS Video
After Backlash and the European tour, I had to take a break to treat my knee that I had been hurting for a while. My partners Kairi and Dakota helped me a lot during this tour as I could not move at my best. I am very grateful to both of them.
Asuka on her YouTube channel

Not only fans, but her fellow WWE superstars, like Nia Jax, especially praised her bravery for fighting despite an injury. Needless to say, only time will tell how long Asuka’s knee injury keeps her out of in-ring action.

A look into Asuka and Kairi Sane’s tag team title run

Kairi Sane made her return to Crown Jewel, helping her friend Iyo Sky retain her WWE Women’s Title against Bianca Belair. After she joined Damage CTRL, Asuka soon followed her tag team partner’s footsteps and joined the notorious group. 

Asuka and Kabuki Warriors
Asuka and Kairi Sane (via WWE)

On the January 26 episode of SmackDown, they challenged then-tag team champions Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Asuka and Sane defeated them and became two-time Women’s Tag Team Champions. During their run, they defended their titles against the likes of Candice LaRae and Indi Hartwell, and Tatum Paxley and Lyra Valkyria.

It looked like the pair would remain undefeated for a long period of time. However, the powerhouse duo of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill joined forces to put an end to their title run at Backlash. Now that The Empress of Tomorrow is out, it will be interesting to see in which direction Kairi Sane goes. 

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