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Former Women's Champion Asuka recently made an appearance at WWE Supershow Japan in Osaka, where she greeted the local fans. However, The Empress of Tomorrow was nowhere to be seen when Damage CTRL appeared on the latest edition of Monday Night RAW. As a result, this led many fans to wonder whether she was furtively leaving the company.
However, Asuka is not leaving WWE and is still part of the Stamford-based promotion. The former Women's Champion is still recovering from her knee injury that she sustained back in March this year. This is the reason why she was not seen with Damage CTRL on the latest episode of Monday Night RAW.
Even though the 42-year-old star was seen without her crutches during her recent appearance in Japan, she was still wearing knee braces. This seems to indicate that The Empress of Tomorrow has not fully recovered from her injury and will remain on hiatus for an undetermined period until she fully recovers.
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Asuka showed up at the WWE Supershow Japan in Osaka along with Damage CTRL because she belongs to that city. Hence, she surprised the local fans and grabbed the opportunity to reconnect with them amid her hiatus from WWE programming. It allowed her to express gratitude and affection to her community in Japan.
Corey Graves deleted his Tweet! More details HERE.
Fans would be waiting to see the 42-year-old star make her return to the Stamford-based promotion soon.
Expected timeline of Asuka's return to WWE
A lot of WWE Superstars are currently away from television due to injuries and so is Asuka. She sustained a knee injury on the March 15, 2024, episode of SmackDown and has been sidelined from the programming since then. The former Women's Tag Team Champion underwent successful knee surgery back in June.
However, the road to recovery is expected to be a long one, as a WWE Superstar goes through a rigorous rehabilitation process before fully healing and getting medically cleared. The Empress of Tomorrow may not be returning to in-ring action anytime soon, as she is expected to be out for the entire year.
The former Women's Champion could return at the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event next year. It needs to be noted that this is mere speculation and nothing can be said as of now as her status remains obscure. WWE could also pull off a major swerve and bring her back to television this year in a non-physical role.
It will be interesting to see how things shape up on Monday Night RAW and what is in store for Damage CTRL amid Asuka's absence.
