5 reasons why Paige could betray Asuka & Kairi Sane and reunite Absolution

One of the most intriguing storyline developments to emerge from the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up has come on SmackDown Live, where Asuka and Kairi Sane have joined the women’s tag division with Paige as their manager.

Over the last three-and-a-half years, Asuka has established herself as one of the best female Superstars that WWE has ever seen, winning the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble in 2018 before capturing the SmackDown Women’s Championship later in the year in the main event of the TLC pay-per-view.

As for Sane, she first made an impression on the WWE Universe during the 2017 Mae Young Classic – a tournament she won, defeating Shayna Baszler in the final – before she went on to become the NXT Women’s champion in 2018.

With Paige now by their side, the Japanese fan favourites got off to a winning start on last week’s SmackDown Live when they teamed with Bayley & Ember Moon to defeat The IIconics, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, while Sane picked up a victory over Peyton Royce this week.

After the match, Asuka & Sane had a stare down across the arena with Rose & Deville – two women who previously aligned with Paige in November 2017 when the former Divas champion returned to WWE and formed the Absolution faction.

In this article, let’s take a look at five reasons to believe that Paige could turn against her new tag team and realign with Rose & Deville.

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#5 Asuka should not be following orders

Asuka is a guaranteed future WWE Hall of Famer, even though she has only been part of the main roster for 18 months, and her 914-day undefeated streak will go down as one of the greatest storylines in the history of WWE’s women’s division.

Throughout her winning run, as well as her ascent back to the top of the card to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the end of 2018, “The Empress of Tomorrow” did not require assistance from anybody, so why has she suddenly agreed to follow orders from Paige?

Kairi Sane receiving a manager upon her arrival on the main roster is understandable, given that she is yet to achieve anything on Raw or SmackDown Live, but it is certainly questionable why Asuka needs guidance from somebody who she has hardly ever crossed paths with during her career.

Perhaps, as we’ll explore further, this is all part of a plan from Paige to gain trust from Asuka & Sane, only to betray them.

#4 The Absolution trio never reached its potential

Paige made her long-awaited return to WWE in November 2017 when she arrived on Monday Night Raw with two new sidekicks, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, who she previously mentored during their time as Tough Enough contestants in 2015.

Known as Absolution, the trio defeated Bayley, Mickie James & Sasha Banks multiple times in December 2017 before Paige suffered a career-ending injury after taking a move from Banks at a live event.

From that moment on, the former Divas champion continued to appear during matches involving Rose and Deville. However, instead of teaming alongside them, she simply watched on from ringside as the newcomers adjusted to main-roster life by facing the likes of Bayley and Banks on Raw.

Paige announced her in-ring retirement in April 2018 and, after becoming SmackDown Live GM, she declared the Absolution faction “dead”.

Needless to say, as the group never reached its full potential, there is definitely some unfinished business to be had between the three women.

#3 Paige is a great heel

Paige burst onto the WWE scene in April 2014 when she debuted on Raw the night after WrestleMania 30 and defeated AJ Lee to win the Divas champion.

At the time, the Brit was among the most popular babyface women on the WWE roster, but within three months she quickly became a heel when she attacked Lee following their match at Battleground.

The former SmackDown Live GM switched between babyface/heel for the rest of her career, notably in late 2017 when it looked as though she had returned as a face but she soon showed her true colours by introducing Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to confirm her status as a heel.

We have seen Paige as a babyface on WWE programming ever since she became an authority figure in April 2018, so perhaps it is not too far-fetched to believe that now is the time for her to return to her villainous ways by aligning with Rose and Deville again.

#2 The women’s tag division needs interesting stories

Sasha Banks & Bayley were hardly given a fair shot to make the Women’s Tag Team Championship really mean something after they became the inaugural winners of the newly introduced titles in February 2019.

Even so, taking into account the number of female teams involved in matches on both Raw and SmackDown Live, the lack of interesting storylines in the women’s tag division has still left a lot to be desired over the last few months.

Nia Jax & Tamina, for example, followed up their loss in the six-team Elimination Chamber match by trading singles victories with Banks & Bayley on Raw, but did that really warrant a title opportunity at Fastlane? And why did only three teams have to qualify for the Chamber match in the first place, while the other three simply declared their entry?

Since WrestleMania 35, the storylines have not gotten much better, with new champions The IIconics losing their last four matches, so maybe a betrayal from Paige is just what this tag division needs to become a little more exciting.

#1 It is too early for Asuka & Kairi Sane to face The IIconics

The decision for the Women’s Tag Team titles to change hands at WrestleMania 35 proved so unpopular with previous champions Sasha Banks & Bayley that Banks reportedly requested her release and she has not appeared on WWE programming since.

With The IIconics appearing on both Raw and SmackDown Live right now, there are two obvious challengers who can be next in line for their titles: Naomi & TBC (Raw) and Asuka & Kairi Sane (SmackDown Live).

Now, although Asuka & Sane would prove to be popular champions, is it not too early for them to dethrone The IIconics? After all, Peyton Royce & Billie Kay only won the titles at WrestleMania 35, so another title change would make the titles feel even less meaningful than they already are.

Moving forward, perhaps it would make for a better story to have Asuka & Sane battle it out with Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville, with Paige playing an instrumental part in the story, while Naomi can find a tag partner from the Raw roster to challenge The IIconics at Money In The Bank.