There was a lot of the line heading into the 2023 edition of the WWE Elimination Chamber. For one thing, the match is one of the more grueling across WWE's slate of gimmick matches, effectively affording the winner some serious bragging right moving forward but more importantly, securing the dub also punched a ticket to WrestleMania 39 and a main event spot in a match against Bianca Belair for the RAW Women's Championship.

Six women entered the chamber, with Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Nikki Cross, and Carmella all starting the match behind plexiglass, and the dynamic duo of Liv Morgan and fan favorite Natalya starting things off in the ring. As the match proceeded on, storylines began to form, like Cross' desire for violence regardless of her physical condition, as her avalanche Cross-body clearly proved, and Carmella's desire to pick the bones of fallen foes in order to secure easy wins without much work. As the match proceeded along, performers were picked off, with Cross going first and Morgan being submitted by referee's decision but in the end, the match came down to just Asuka versus Mella, with the “Killer Clown” locking up her foe in a submission hold to punch her ticket to WrestleMania 39.

Has Asuka challenged for the RAW Women's Championship before? Yes, many times, in fact, but Belair has certainly never faced off against an opponent like this current iteration of Asuka, as there are truly no known depths to just how deranged the “Empress of Tomorrow” can get in the ring against even the “EST of WWE.”