Asuka made her return to Raw this week after over a year out with a knee injury.
The Empress was in the final Fatal Four way in the first round of the Queen of the Ring tournament and walked away with a win. She pinned Raquel Rodriguez off of a hip attack now being called the Empress Impact. The match also included Ivy Nile and Stephanie Vaquer.
The final moments of the match had Rodriguez just moments away from getting the win off of the Tejana Bomb on Vaquer…but Rhea Ripley appeared and pulled Rodriguez out of the ring. After hitting a Riptide on Rodriguez, Ripley tossed her back in the ring for Asuka to pick at the scraps and get the win.
Post match, Asuka was interviewed in the ring. She says the fire in her isn’t gone and she will become Queen of the Ring. She will take on Alexa Bliss this Friday on SmackDown in the semi-finals. The other semi-finals takes place next Monday as Roxanne Perez takes on Jade Cargill. The finals take place at Night of Champions on June 28.