In WWE, unexpected events are the order of the day and it can happen that even well-planned shots result in something dangerous. A fairly unfortunate incident happened to the current Raw Women's Champion Asuka during the recent episode of Monday Night Raw.
The Japanese fighter was engaged in a Tag Team Match with Charlotte Flair and she literally lost a tooth at the end of the match. The cause was Shayna Baszler, who unintentionally hit her with a kick in the face. The latter immediately went to verify the conditions of the challenger, but the damage was now done. The episode was much talked about on social media and Charly Caruso also talked about it during Raw Talk.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler beat Asuka and Charlotte Flair
A similar episode, albeit much more bloody, had happened to Cesaro in 2017 when, on the occasion of the PPV No Mercy, he saw his incisors literally sticking into his gums. It then took him several years to put his teeth back in place and regain a normal smile, but the accident earned him the esteem of the fans and a standing ovation from colleagues at the end of the meeting. And how not to mention the episode of Raw in 2018, before the Survivor Series, where Nia Jax hit Becky Lynch with a very stiff elbow, giving her a fracture of the nasal septum. Episode that was used by WWE as a storyline to increase the hatred of fans towards Nia and transform the character of the Irish wrestler into a sort of female "Stone Cold". Becky's vision with a bloody nose, in fact, was highly symbolic. Nia Jax had also ended up in the cauldron of controversy for having caused Kairi Sane, in a recording of Raw of 2020, a conspicuous cut to her forehead, then removed from the post-production of the episode. The WWE motto "Don't Try This at Home", on the other hand, was created for this reason as well. We'll see if the Company will exploit Asuka's unfortunate incident in a storyline or if it will be ignored as if nothing had happened.
According to PWInsider, the kick was legitimate. After the moment, the Raw Women's Champion was checked on backstage by medical staff. In the opening match of the 2021 Royal Rumble, Asuka and Charlotte Flair defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships against former champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. After a distraction from Ric Flair and Lacey Evans, the duo lost the titles to Baszler and Jax. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax were challenged for their titles at Elimination Chamber by SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks and Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair.