Asuka blasts Japanese media, says Stardom ‘was created to destroy me’

Former WWE Women’s Champion Asuka took to Twitter/X, releasing a series of statements claiming that the Japanese women’s wrestling (aka joshi) promotion Stardom was created to defeat her and that the media in her home country hated her.

Asuka began by responding to a since-deleted tweet from a follower. She detailed her issues with the Japanese press, saying they hated her because she wasn’t media-friendly:

“I don’t flatter anyone. Even in Japan, the media hated me because I don’t flatter the media. In Japan, everyone was flirting with the media except me. I fought the media alone to take care of my fans. That’s why some of the Japanese media still hate me. That’s why I’ve always been a freelancer. And Everyone in Japan knows I am anti-Joshi Pro. Always.”

Later, Asuka added, “I was always fighting that media all by myself,” after turning her attention to STARDOM.

“The former editor-in-chief of Pro Wrestling Weekly [likely referring to Japanese magazine Weekly Pro Wrestling] has made this point on several occasions. That is, Stardom is an organization that was created to defeat me. It is an organization that was created to destroy me personally. But they failed to defeat me. I don’t know what happened to them after that because I came to America.”

Asuka clarified her statements in another tweet, saying:

“What I just said is in the past. It was before I came to America. Now the organization has changed and there are few players I know. So, I don’t know anything about it, and good luck to everyone who’s trying their best. I’m especially concerned about Syuri and Shirakawa, that’s all.”

Syuri and Mina Shirakawa are currently signed to Stardom, which is owned by New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s parent company Bushiroad.

Asuka made her American debut on the independent circuit in 2011, but continued to wrestle in Japan for various promotions and her own Kana Pro before signing with WWE in 2015. She referred to WWE as her “oasis” in another tweet:

“The media could not bring me down when I came to America. They must have really wanted me to fail. I am used to it because I have been fighting my critics alone since my days in Japan.

But now that I am here, I have comrades in arms. Charlotte, Becky, HHH and... I’ve walked alone in the wilderness all my life, and here I have an oasis.

To the Asuka antis, I say, beat me up on the Internet all you want. I grab everything.”

While there's no indication they're related, these tweets come after WWE has reportedly re-signed Asuka’s former tag partner Kairi Sane (aka KAIRI) following her recent stint in New Japan and Stardom, a move rumors tease is part of a bigger story.