Last night on Monday Night Raw, fans saw the return of former WWE Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion, Asuka. The Empress of Tomorrow was out of action for over a year. She finally made her return last night.
Asuka competed in the First Round of the Queen of the Ring Tournament. It was a Fatal Four Way. Her opponents were American Made’s Ivy Nile, former NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer, and one-half of the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Raquel Rodriguez.
It looked like Rodriguez was going to pick up the win. But the Eradicator Rhea Ripley showed up and cost Rodriguez the match. It is to be noted that this was payback, as Rodriguez spoiled Ripley’s opportunity to qualify in the Queen of the Ring tournament. Asuka capitalized on the interference and then went on to pick up the victory, advancing to the semi-finals.
Following the win, Asuka took to Twitter to send a message to the entire roster. She mentioned that the fire inside her was never out and it is ready to ‘burn’ again.
“I wasn’t gone. I was holding power inside. The fire never died — it’s still alive. Now… It’s time to burn again,” Asuka tweeted
I wasn’t gone.
I was holding power inside.
The fire never died — it’s still alive.
Now…
It’s time to burn again. pic.twitter.com/oTqaiFiinj— ASUKA / 明日華 (@WWEAsuka) June 17, 2025
Asuka will be wrestling her former tag team partner, Alexa Bliss, in the Semi-Finals this Friday Night on SmackDown. The Queen Charlotte Flair also sent a ‘welcome back’ message to the Empress of Tomorrow via Twitter.
Check out everything that went down on WWE RAW here.
What was your reaction to the return of Asuka?
