Asuka and IYO SKY have a long history together. And for the past few weeks it seems to be breaking down into a potential rivalry.
Below, you will find Asuka’s story with IYO and their history together. This is from her own YouTube channel.
Asuka says, “I’m still really angry. But today, I wanna take the change to talk about what IYO and I have been through. IYO and I teamed up back in Japan. In Japanese wrestling, there is a very strict Senpai, Kohai system. Since I debuted before her, I was the Senpai, Senior, and IYO was the Kohai, Junior. Normally, that means that the junior must follow everything the senior says. But, I never wanted to treat IYO like that, to me the culture had no meaning, no value, so I didn’t follow that tradition. Instead, we went beyond it. We teamed up, went into different promotion together, trusted each other and fought side by side.
Later, IYO went her way, and I went mine and for a while our paths were separate. But years later, we met again in WWE. When Kairi went back to Japan, I was alone and felt lonely, but just having IYO around really healed my heart. Sometimes, we even stood on opposite sides of the ring, but when Kairi returned, we all stood together again as a team. Of course, IYO has her own life and I have mine, but still I wanted us to always support each other. That’s why what happened this time was so deeply disappointing.”
Asuka and Kairi Sane have found each other excluded lately from SKY. SKY has wanted to take on matters with the Judgment Day herself, and even with the help from Asuka and Sane, it cost SKY a match against Perez. This past Monday, Rhea Ripley helped SKY after her match with Raquel Rodriguez. This created more tension, specifically between Asuka and SKY as Asuka is viewing Ripley as a different type of friend to SKY.
Asuka, Sane, and SKY had all been together in Damage CTRL which also included Bayley and Dakota Kai. Due to injuries and departures, Damage CTRL is no more, but there is still a strong bond between the former members.