A couple of weeks ago, Asuka left Natalya with a black eye en route to a Raw Women’s Title Match with Becky Lynch. This week, she added insult to injury by costing The Queen of Harts a match against Kairi Sane, a move that could bode ill for Natalya’s chances against Asuka inside the Women’s Elimination Chamber.
The specter of that match hung over Natalya vs. Kairi — Asuka explicitly promised to defeat Natalya in the cage and barked instructions at her partner from the corner. Most crucially, however, she got involved, blasting Natalya with a kick on the outside that dropped the former SmackDown Women’s Champion to the mat, leaving her incapacitated long enough for Kairi to earn a count-out win. Like she says: Easy peasy.