With just two weeks to go until the highly anticipated WrestleMania 40, wrestling fans are on high alert and keeping track of which talent does and doesn't appear ready for the big night. So far, this year, the proceedings have been particularly brutal when it comes to injuries. Most notably, Seth Rollins was injured and is rehabbing his leg ahead of his matches. And others like Charlotte Flair and CM Punk are out indefinitely after the Royal Rumble. Now, there's possibly another competitor to add to the list, as many have questions about WWE champion Asuka and whether she'll be good to go.
Asuka appeared alongside the rest of Damage CTRL for Bayley's match against Dakota Kai on the latest SmackDown. During the broadcast, she was seen limping to the back despite helping her stablemates deliver a thorough beatdown on their former ally, Bayley. PWInsider reported that Asuka hurt her knee on the show, and WWE allegedly decided to pull her from events over the weekend as a cautionary measure until she can get it checked out. The organization allegedly wants to see if this is an injury she can compete through or if she'll potentially be out for WrestleMania 40.
If it's the latter, the WWE must scramble to figure out what to do for its Women's Tag Team Championship. The "Empress of Tomorrow" is one half of the defending champs alongside Kairi Sane, and it would be strange to have a title left off the card for WrestleMania. She may ultimately be fine and able to compete before the big day, but what can the wrestling organization do if she's unable to defend?
One option, and possibly the most unfair, would be to make The Kabuki Warriors relinquish their titles ahead of WrestleMania 40. That would be a lose-lose for all involved, because it would take away a moment from Kairi Sane, who is likely healthy and ready to go.
If the titles are vacated, it could create a tournament-style situation or something akin to the six-pack ladder match that will happen for the Men's tag-team titles. As much as I hate the idea of the Warriors not being in the mix for something like that, it would be nice to have another title match on the card in which no one has any solid theories on how it will play out. Then again, with so many teases of a massive betrayal in the main event, do we need more surprises? If there's any time to have an overload of surprises, it would be during WM 40.
Another idea would be to have Kairi Sane get a new partner who she could defend her title alongside. Chelsea Green was allowed to bring in Piper Niven when Sonya DeVille went down with an injury, so I believe that option is still there for The Kabuki Warriors. Dakota Kai would be an obvious stand-in partner for Sane to call on to defend the title, considering their shared alliance in Damage CTRL.
The worst possibility would be for the WWE to ignore the women's tag team championship and just wait until Asuka is theoretically good to go again after WrestleMania 40. The company is already likely going to leave a lot of superstars off the loaded card, and removing the titles would mean one less match for the women of the organization. The women's roster is too talented to have less time on the card so, hopefully, company officials can figure out what to do.
More details on Asuka and her status may surface on Monday Night Raw, which airs on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET or on SmackDown, which drops on Fridays at the same time. Be sure to get a Peacock Premium subscription to see WrestleMania 40, which will stream live from Philadelphia on Saturday, April 6th, and Sunday, April 7th.
