A professional wrestler from Japan named Kanako Urai is currently employed by WWE, where she competes on the Raw brand with the ring name Asuka
Asuka became the first Japanese wrestler signed by WWE in more than 20 years when she inked a developmental contract with the promotion in 2015
She got promoted to the WWE main roster in 2017 after winning the NXT Women's Championship in 2016
She was the first Women's Royal Rumble match champion in 2018
She also operates Another Heaven, a hair shop in Yokohama
Asuka was selected for SmackDown on April 17 as part of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up
She made her debut by defending Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair from The IIconics' and later Carmella's attacks
Asuka entered the first-ever women's Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship
Asuka was crowned the new champion when Becky Lynch revealed on the Raw that she had relinquished the Raw Women's Championship due to pregnancy
She also succeeded Bayley as the second woman to win the Women's Grand Slam and Alexa Bliss as the third woman to achieve the Women's Triple Crown.
Asuka lost the first match but won the second one against Banks to reclaim the Raw Women's Championship
Asuka was declared a free agent after the 2021 WWE Draft because she was not selected
Asuka faced Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair on the show's May 9 broadcast.
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