On Dec. 30, 2025, former WWE NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler appeared for an interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, where she recalled an incident in which she had accidentally kicked Kabuki Warriors member Asuka in the face and chipped her tooth.
During the interview, Baszler continued to reflect on the event before having a good laugh over Asuka's backstage reaction and resilience to the botch.
The clip soon went viral on the internet when the “Empress of Tomorrow” decided to speak up. The current WWE Women's Tag-Team Champion, Asuka, chose to reveal the truth about the incident rather than staying silent.
“My tooth was fractured due to a mistake by Shayna Baszler. At the time I told her I was okay because I did not want her to carry the guilt. But I ended up needing surgery and of course I was not okay,” Asuka wrote. “I just did not want her to feel responsible knowing that these things happen in our line of work. I thought that if I just endured it then everything would be fine. Seeing people mocking me in the comments makes me realize once again how cruel the world is.
“But I blame no one. I do not even wish misfortune upon those who lack kindness. In fact I am more cruel than these cruel people because I will be far happier than they are. While people spend their time mocking me I am savoring and embracing every bit of my happiness. My ideal life is already nearing its completion,” she continued.
The incident Baszler spoke about took place on the Feb. 22, 2021, episode of Monday Night RAW during the Thunderdome era, which also involved Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax.
Asuka “not bothered” by WWE legend Goldberg's criticism
A few months ago, WWE legend Goldberg went vocal about his displeasure over Asuka breaking his undefeated streak. However, soon after, Asuka responded and claimed that she was “not bothered” by it.
“Goldberg’s comments about me are all over the news right now,” she began. “But honestly, I’m not bothered by it at all. What he said came from his own perspective, and that’s fine. So there’s really no need to make such a big deal out of it.”
Soon after Asuka entered WWE, she went on to win 260 straight matches across NXT and the main roster, effectively breaking Goldberg's record of 173 wins.
