AJ Lee has her sights set on multiple talents from the women’s division who have cemented their spot during her time away. The latest rivalry that has caught her attention is between The Kabuki Warriors and IYO SKY.
Lee took to social media that she had been fangirling over their feud for months.
“been fangirling for @WWEAsuka @KAIRI_official @Iyo_SkyWWE for months and I am unhealthily invested in this now,” posted Lee.
The rift between The Kabuki Warriors and IYO SKY grew wider in the second half of 2025. Asuka snapped on a September edition of Raw when Sky assisted Rhea Ripley, who was her original target. Asuka and Kairi Sane attacked Sky too. In the months that followed, the two tag teams clashed repeatedly in the ring. Asuka frequently reminded SKY of her sacrifices and efforts in their friendship.
With their rivalry brewing for a long while now and WrestleMania 42 around the corner, their match has reached a conundrum. Earlier this week we reported the reason for the delay in WWE announcing Asuka vs. SKY for the Premium Live Event. It is directly linked to the Women’s Tag Team Championship match.
Nia Jax & Lash Legend are set to defend the titles against Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair, Bayley & Lyra Valkyria, and The Bella Twins. However, Nikki Bella suffered a foot injury on SmackDown last month. If she is not cleared to compete at WrestleMania 42, WWE intends to add The Kabuki Warriors as replacement.
Meanwhile, Lee will compete in her first WrestleMania match in a decade as she defends the Intercontinental Title in a rematch against Becky Lynch.
Les and Vic from Wrestling Weekly were away last week, but make their triumphant return today.
They look at everything going on in pro wrestling like CM Punk and his potential first challenger for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the return of Rey Mysterio, a new title in AEW and the road to next week’s Blood and Guts.
It was made official on Raw that IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley will team up in Australia next month to take on The Kabuki Warriors. This follows events that took place last week when Asuka and Kairi Sane turned against SKY, as well as the opening segment on this week’s Raw.
Ripley opened the show wanting to confront The Kabuki Warriors. SKY came out, however, and said that while she was right about Asuka and Kairi, she didn’t want this to happpen as they are still family to her. A video then aired of Asuka saying she’d forgive SKY if she apologized. Asuka and Kairi then attacked Ripley from behind. SKY hesitated, but eventually joined in and defended Ripley, eventually getting misted by Asuka for her efforts.
Later, Kairi Sane backstage pleaded with SKY to apologize to Asuka. After SKY told her to go away, Kairi handed her a photograph of the three together, attempting to mend fences. But in another backstage promo, SKY had made up her mind, telling Ripley that she talked to Adam Pearce and set up the tag team match for October 11 in Perth, Australia.
Damage CTRL added more gold to its ranks on the night before the Royal Rumble.
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned as The Kabuki Warriors defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance on last night’s SmackDown. This is Asuka & Kairi Sane’s second time holding the titles together. Their first reign took place in 2019 during Sane’s initial stint with WWE.
After taking out Chance with a slam onto the announce table, Sane and Asuka delivered an InSane Elbow/reverse DDT combination on Carter to win the titles. Damage CTRL then celebrated together on the ramp.
The victory completes part one of Damage CTRL’s mission this weekend. Bayley will now attempt to win the women’s Royal Rumble match tonight. Bayley has claimed that, if she wins the Rumble, she’ll challenge Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania and not her Damage CTRL stablemate WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY.
Carter & Chance had been Women’s Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Chelsea Green & Piper Niven on the December 18 episode of Raw.
WWE’s revived version of Starrcade, essentially a glammed up house show, airs tonight on the WWE Network.
Three segments will be aired live. One will be a fatal four way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles, with champions The Kabuki Warriors facing Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair, Bayley & Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross.
Another match set is a last man standing bout between Bobby Lashley and Rusev. The two have been feuding for a number of weeks, with the catalyst being Lana dumping Rusev for Lashley. The two ended up having a huge brawl this past week on Raw, with Rusev sending Lashley through a platform off the Raw stage.
One non-wrestling segment is also set for the show, with Ric Flair being announced as a guest for the Kevin Owens Show.
Join us for live coverage starting at 7 p.m. EST.
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Kevin Owens came out for his show and quickly introduced Ric Flair.
Flair started to give a speech about Starrcade but the crowd chanted “we can’t hear you”. Owens traded him microphones. He brings up what Roman said on Thursday and says he we might not like each other, but we are family. He said he was lucky to be here, look at his daughter. He thanks Harley Race and mentions their match at the first Starrcade, as well as Dusty Rhodes, who came up with the idea. He also brought up Sting.
He said behind that curtain tonight there are 30 people who want to go out there and prove they are the best. Owens says that is because of Flair’s legacy. Owens told Flair he wants to hear a “woo”.
They counted three, but at three the OC (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) came out. They should be celebrating that Gallows & Anderson are the best tag team. Kevin Owens threw a bald joke at them. Anderson said that they should spend the next 55 minutes airing O.C. highlight clips. Owens said that instead maybe they should show footage of AJ Styles losing the United States title to Rey Mysterio on Raw this past Monday.
This brought out The Street Profits. Montez Ford said they should make some highlights here tonight in “Atlanta”. This all leads to a tag match.
The Street Profits defeated The O.C. (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson)
Profits get the early advantage on Anderson before he tags in to Gallows. Ford is distracted long enough on the apron by Anderson to eat a boot by Gallows that sends him to the floor. Anderson works on him back in the ring as he tags back in Gallows.
Ford made the hot tag to Dawkins who ran wild on both men before being taken down by a spinebuster from Anderson. Both Anderson & Gallows went for the magic killer on Dawkins, but Ford breaks it up. He took out Gallows on the outside, then was tagged in for a frog splash and got the win. Basic match, though the crowd was into it.
Ric Flair celebrated with The Street Profits after the match.
Sasha Banks met up with Bayley backstage. Bayley says let’s just do what we do then get the hell out of here. Sasha said they would be double champions.
The Kabuki Warriors defeated Bayley & Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch & Charlotte and Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles
The match starts out with some tentative back and forth and many tags. Charlotte and Asuka exchange strikes, with Charlotte getting the better of things. She went for a figure four, but Asuka shoved her away, allowing Sasha Banks to tag herself in.
Alexa Bliss is tagged in as she and Nikki worked over Sasha Banks. Bayley is tagged in and isolates Nikki briefly. Nikki tags in Becky Lynch, who is cut off by Bayley and Sasha.
Becky manages to escape from Bayley, but instead of tagging in Charlotte instead tags in Bliss. Bayley tags in Kairi as she put Alexa in a half Boston crab. Bayley & Sasha are back in and isolate Bliss. Bliss escapes momentarily, but Asuka grabs Bliss by the leg.
Bliss strikes Asuka with a forearm before tagging in Lynch, who takes out both Kabuki Warriors, Bayley and Sasha. Asuka breaks up a pin attempt by Becky with a running knee. Nikki tags herself in and hits a double crossbody on both Kairi and Asuka.
Everyone started hitting big moves at this point. Sane hit the insane elbow on Lynch, but Charlotte took out both Kabuki Warriors with a double spear. Charlotte was posted in the corner. Asuka missed a kick as Nikki rolled her up for a flash pin, but Asuka countered with the Asuka lock, giving her the submission win. This was another perfectly fine match, but there was nothing particularly interesting about it.
Bobby Lashley won the last man standing match I guess
Lana says she has some good news and some bad news. The good news is that she’s excited for this holiday season because she has a hot boyfriend and he is the gift that keeps on giving. She said Rusev never appreciated her. Fans chanted “Rusev day”.
She said the bad news was that there would be no Last Man Standing match. She went to court in Georgia today and filed a restraining order. She said Rusev day was cancelled and they would gladly take the win by forfeit. The referee raised Lashley’s hand.
At that moment, Kevin Owens came out. He said he’s not ending the show like this. He said no one cares about their stupid relationship. He ran down the fact she doesn’t use her accent anymore. Lashley told him to get in the ring, and he obliged, leading to a match.
Bobby Lashley defeated Kevin Owens by DQ
Owens hit a few cannonballs in the corner and went for a stunner but Lashley rolled out of the way. Owens wiped out Lashley with a senton off the apron. Lashley got the heat after tripping Owens on the apron.
Owens eventually reversed a suplex attempt from Lashley, but Lashley remained in control. Owens fought back with tops, but was quickly taken down again. Lashley went for a superplex, but Owens fought him off, sent him to the floor and hit a senton. He followed with a bullfrog splash off the opposite corner for a nearfall.
Lashley blocked a stunner attempt with a neckbreaker but Owens reversed it into a stunner. Lana distracted the referee, which led to Owens being distracted and walking into a spinebuster. Lana introduced a steel chair but Rusev came through the chair and assaulted Lashley for the DQ. This was another good match until the finish.
Rusev brawled around the ring with Lashley after the match, then took him into the crowd. Lashley cut him off back in the ringside area and threw him into the steel steps. In the ring, Lashley beat him with a kendo stick until Lashley grabbed it from him and began pelting Lashley with strikes. Rusev attacked Lashley with a chair then drilled him with a machka kick while Lashley was holding a chair, sending him out of the ring.
The show ended with Rusev leaving through the crowd to avoid being arrested, I guess.
It appears that Asuka & Kairi Sane are finally getting their shot at the Women’s Tag Team titles.
WWE has announced that Peyton Royce & Billie Kay will defend their titles against Asuka & Sane on tonight’s SmackDown. Asuka & Sane getting the title shot was set up when they defeated Royce & Kay in a non-title match at a house show in Tokyo, Japan last month.
There was an angle on last week’s SmackDown where Royce & Kay avoided having their match against Asuka & Sane that night by claiming that Kay was too sick to wrestle.
WWE is also hyping a segment for tonight where Daniel Bryan will make an announcement that “will change the course of his career and shake SmackDown LIVE to its core.”
Bryan & Rowan lost the SmackDown Tag Team titles at Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, with Big E & Xavier Woods defeating Bryan & Rowan and Heavy Machinery in a triple threat match. Bryan cut a post-show promo where he said he has to aim higher and go where he hasn’t gone before.
Tonight’s SmackDown is taking place at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Shane McMahon will host a “town hall meeting” after Kevin Owens called out Shane last week for taking up TV time from other wrestlers and calling himself the best in the world. Ember Moon and a partner will also team against Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville.
