After nine months away from the ring due to injury, Asuka returned to Monday Night Raw!
Becky Lynch hadn’t been seen on Monday Night Raw since losing her Raw Women’s Championship to Bianca Belair on night one of WrestleMania 38, but she returned on the April 25th episode to address the crowd in Knoxville, TN.
Big Time Becks looked distraught when she came out to the ring, and she said that she couldn’t show her face since she didn’t know who she was without the Raw Women’s Championship. After saying she didn’t recognize herself in the mirror and had hit rock bottom, it looked like Lynch was about to leave the ring – but instead, she said that if she’s hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.
This led the former champion to say that this will be the beginning of the Becky Lynch comeback story, and that after she regains her Raw Women’s Championship, no one will be able to beat her – not current champion Bianca Belair, not Sonya DeVille, not anyone.
However, Becky Lynch’s celebration of her potential comeback was interrupted when the familiar tune of Asuka’s music hit, and the two former Raw Women’s Champions came face to face. Asuka danced and spoke to Lynch in Japanese before saying:
“I will stop you! Because no one is ready for Asuka!”
.@WWEAsuka is back!!!! #WWERawpic.twitter.com/AWmM7VjB5W
— WWE (@WWE) April 26, 2022
Lynch left the ring looking upset and Asuka danced in the ring to end the segment.
Asuka hasn’t been seen inside a WWE ring since Money In The Bank on July 18th, 2021. While there has been no official confirmation from WWE regarding the reason for Asuka’s absence, it has been reported that the Japanese star was dealing with an injury.
In the lead-up to the 2022 Royal Rumble, it was suggested that the former champion had been cleared to return and there was a chance that she would be appearing at the event. However, the show came and went without the former NXT star. A report following the Royal Rumble noted that Asuka was considered “not physically ready” to return.