WWE Smackdown
courtesy WWE

In what’s been touted as a dream match for ages on WWE Smackdown, IYO SKY took on her country native Asuka in a marquee title match, this week. SKY headed into the match as the reigning WWE Women’s Champion and she eventually came out with her title intact after a lot of shenanigans played out during the bout.

When the match took place on WWE Smackdown with the Women’s Title hanging in the balance, not only Damage CTRL was out at ringside to favor the champion but also Charlotte Flair came out in aid of Asuka. However, The Queen’s presence didn’t ultimately help Asuka to recapture the title that she lost at Summerslam.

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The two Japanese Superstars went back and forth with high-flying maneuvers throughout this matchup on WWE Smackdown. Asuka hit a superplex on SKY while SKY quickly countered with a missile dropkick while Asuka was sitting on the top turnbuckle and thus sent the challenger flying to the floor.

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WWE Smackdown: IYO SKY defeats Asuka to retain Women’s Title

Moving in, Asuka was able to apply multiple submission maneuvers over the champion as the match progressed on WWE Smackdown but SKY powered out of all of them. Bayley continued to help SKY and she also put SKY’s foot on the rope behind the referee’s back when the champion was trapped in the Asuka Lock. This led to Charlotte attacking Bayley. The chaos allowed SKY to hit Asuka with a double knee-strike, followed by a top-rope moonsault on the challenger to get the pin-fall win.

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With this, SKY now has two successful title defenses by her name since winning the title in early August. Earlier, she defended against Zelina Veg on the August 25 episode of WWE Smackdown. Afterward, Asuka came forward to demand her rematch for the title in what was rumored to be her retirement match at one point. But there’s no update on whether if it was indeed her last match in the WWE.

Iyo Sky
courtesy Twitter

In a Triple Threat for the WWE Women’s Championship at Summerslam 2023, Bianca Belair defeated Asuka and Charlotte Flair to become the new titleholder. Soon after the match the 2023 2023 Money in the Bank briefcase holder IYO SKY came out and successfully cashed in her contract to win the Women’s Title for the first time in her career and become the new queen pin of the WWE Smackdown Women’s Division.

Arindam Pal

A WWE writer passionate about the sports.