I love a good, dramatic angle when it comes to WWE’s women’s division, and this heel turn for Asuka that’s causing issues for IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley’s friendship is just excellent. It’s nice to have an angle going that isn’t centered around a man (especially with Ripley, I still feel like we’re in the Liv Morgan feud with “Dirty” Dom sometimes, that all lasted so long) or even a championship right now.

I’ve really liked everything going on with SKY and Ripley for awhile now, as they’ve had the best friendly rivalry we’ve seen in WWE in awhile now, but the addition of Asuka, as well as Kairi Sane, is keeping this all fresh. It’s my understanding that the Asuka heel turn may have been expedited a bit due to Naomi having to relinquish the Women’s World Championship, but if that’s the case, WWE is still going about it at a really good pace. 

Tonight, I especially liked the angle where SKY told Ripley they needed to keep their distances from each other, due to how upset it was making Asuka. However, when Ripley caught a beat down from Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez (after an excellent match between Ripley and Perez), SKY felt that she had to do something since she “owed” Ripley. In the back, Ripley joked that they just couldn’t stay away from each other, which was really cute, but then Asuka and Sane showed up, and “The Empress of Tomorrow” straight up ordered SKY stop talking to Ripley. Poor Sane is also just in the middle of all this, and while she’s been following Asuka after confrontations, her acting is so good that it looks like she really has no idea what to do.

The story of SKY having to pick her “family,” as she called them, Asuka and Sane, over Ripley, who she is also close friends with, is nothing new that we haven’t already seen before when it comes to a story, but Ripley and SKY both are just so darn lovable, it’s hard not to enjoy it. And, as much as I like the Kabuki Warriors, it’s hard not to root for true love to prevail, when it comes to friendship, at least, and Ripley and SKY team up. I’m not entirely sure where Asuka gets off legitimately ordering SKY around, when it was SKY who was most recently Women’s World Champion, but I’m sure that’s part of the story to get her heel heat.

This feud likely won’t be without a championship, or at least the opportunity for one, for long, however, with what we learned about the title tonight, with General Manager Adam Pearce seemingly choosing an opponent for Stephanie Vaquer next week. It would make a lot of sense for him to pick either Ripley or SKY, but maybe Asuka will somehow work her way into the opportunity instead, which would be really interesting. I’m invested in this story even if there isn’t gold involved.

Written by Daisy Ruth