Asuka to Face Bianca Belair at WWE WrestleMania 39 After Elimination Chamber Win
Asuka won an Elimination Chamber match at the same-titled pay-per-view on Saturday to earn a Raw Women's Championship shot against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39.
Asuka outlasted five of the top female Superstars from Raw and SmackDown, beating Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya and Carmella.
Asuka and Carmella worked together to knock out Rodriguez, leaving those two remaining for a shot at Belair's title.
It was Asuka who reigned victorious, however, after locking in an armbar on Carmella.
Two nights after Rhea Ripley won the women's Royal Rumble match and ultimately decided to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown title at The Show of Shows, a plan was put in place to determine Belair's WrestleMania opponent.
WWE official Adam Pearce announced that one of the two Elimination Chamber matches would be for a shot at the Raw Women's Championship, and four of the participants earned their way into the contest through their Rumble performance.
In addition to the Rumble winner in Ripley, the likes of Asuka, Morgan, Rodriguez and Cross were among the final five competitors in the 2023 women's Rumble match, which was enough to qualify them for Elimination Chamber.
The final two spots were filled through a pair of Fatal 4-Way matches held on SmackDown and Raw.
In the first of those matches, Natalya beat Shayna Baszler, Zelina Vega and Shotzi to qualify. Then, Carmella defeated Piper Niven, Mia Yim and Candice LeRae to secure the sixth and final position.
During the build toward Elimination Chamber, Belair made it clear she is ready and willing to face anyone at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 1-2, one year after beating Becky Lynch for the Raw women's title at WrestleMania 38.
Now, The EST of WWE is set to face the toughest challenge of her reign in the new and improved Asuka on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
A more aggressive and dominant Asuka showed up at the Royal Rumble and got the job done at Elimination Chamber, potentially setting the scene for her to become Raw women's champion for the third time.
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