Asuka is reportedly semi-retired following her loss to IYO SKY at WWE Backlash 2026 on Saturday night. After months of feuding with her former mentee, “The Empress of Tomorrow” embraced SKY in the ring after the match, and according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, people backstage were saying their goodbyes to her. The exact meaning of “semi-retired” remains unclear, leaving fans wondering if Asuka’s full-time WWE run is officially over after more than a decade with the company.
Asuka Semi-Retired Status Following WWE Backlash 2026 Loss
Speaking on the post-Backlash edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said the story he heard backstage was that Asuka is semi-retired but acknowledged he didn’t have an exact definition of what that means. He noted it could mean Asuka returns to Japan to wrestle, takes selected dates with WWE going forward, or steps away entirely. Bryan Alvarez reacted to the news by saying he’ll miss Asuka. Later in the show, both speculated whether she may have been part of the recent WWE roster cuts, with Alvarez pointing to former tag partner Kairi Sane being released earlier and never used to finish her storyline as a comparison point.
Asuka’s WWE Career And Championship Legacy
The 44-year-old Asuka has been with WWE since the summer of 2015, and her resume reflects one of the most decorated runs in modern women’s wrestling. She is a four-time women’s champion on the main roster and a one-time NXT Champion. Asuka has held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship five times — three with Kairi Sane and one each with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. She also won the 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble and the 2020 Women’s Money in the Bank. The post-Backlash embrace with SKY now stands as a potential career-defining moment if this is indeed the end.
Source: Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Radio.
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