WWE News: Asuka is traded to SmackDown Live in the Superstar Shakeup
What's the story?
Asuka is now officially a SmackDown Live Superstar after weeks of being part of the Blue brand's Women's Championship picture, it seems that General Manager Paige decided to make her stay permanent.
In case you didn't know...
Asuka was the inaugural winner of the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match in January and chose to face Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania despite being a Raw superstar at the time.
Asuka has appeared as part of the SmackDown brand for the past few weeks but was unsuccessful at the biggest event of the year when Charlotte ended her streak, which meant that Asuka had to return to Raw.
Following their match, Asuka and Charlotte embraced and it seems that the duo is now considered to be friends.
The heart of the matter
The IIconics and Carmella attacked Charlotte and Becky Lynch this week on SmackDown Live after Charlotte managed to defeat Billie Kay in her first match on the main roster via submission.
Asuka then made her way to the ring to even the numbers and confirmed that she had been moved over to the SmackDown roster as part of the Superstar Shake-Up.
Natalya was moved over to Raw last night along with The Riott Squad and it seems that SmackDown has gained Absolution and Asuka in return.
What's next?
It seems that there have been two teams formed in the Women's Division of SmackDown Live so Asuka, Becky, and Charlotte could be battling Billie, Carmella and Peyton Royce for the foreseeable future.
Author's take
SmackDown has secured some big names in the Superstar Shake-up but it seems that Asuka is the biggest for their Women's Division.
Having The Empress and The Queen on one show after their WrestleMania showdown is incredible, the future definitely looks bright with the additions of Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose in the Division as well.