The August 11 episode of WWE Raw originally had a championship match scheduled for the show with the Women’s World Title on the line in a singles contest. However, that match never took place after it was announced that the champion was diagnosed with an unannounced injury and that she wasn’t fit enough to compete on the show.
With just a few hours to go before WWE Raw on this past Monday night, fans were surprised by the news that the scheduled Women’s World Championship match between the champion Naomi and challenger IYO SKY was scrapped, as Naomi wasn’t medically cleared to compete. The exact reason why Naomi wasn’t cleared remains a mystery, as WWE never clarified the same.
Reportedly, this sudden change on the card led the WWE to not only shuffle the card for WWE Raw but also change the creative direction to a new route. A long-term plan regarding Asuka, which was supposed to kick off a bit later, was preponed. Per the current updates, the former multi-time world champion in the WWE is transitioning to a heel persona, and it’s happening imminently.
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WWE Raw: Asuka turning heel for a feud with IYO SKY
The viewers of WWE Raw did notice that Asuka and SKY had a confrontation following the latter suffering a loss to Roxanne Perez. Asuka willingly walked out on SKY after the match outcome, which must have initiated her character transition. PWInsider Elite reports that plans were always in place for Asuka to turn on her Damage CTRL stablemate.
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However, this turn was originally conceived as a slow-burn angle, with Asuka and SKY having an open fallout at a later date. Due to Naomi’s absence, the decision was made quicker than expected, and it unfolded on this week’s WWE Raw.
Even the singles matchup between SKY and Perez was reportedly a last-minute decision, as WWE reportedly discussed booking a tag match where Perez would team up with Raquel Rodriguez to take on SKY and Rhea Ripley after the news came that Naomi wouldn’t be wrestling on the show. It’s unclear why WWE chose to move forward with a singles match between Perez and SKY instead.