WWE Speeds Up Asuka Heel Turn Plans After Naomi’s Absence on Raw

Plans for a major WWE heel turn were changed on the fly during the August 11, 2025 episode of Monday Night Raw in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Originally, Naomi was set to defend her Women’s World Championship against IYO SKY, but just three hours before the show, WWE announced Naomi wasn’t medically cleared to compete. This unexpected change forced WWE to shuffle the card, leading to a singles match between IYO SKY and Roxanne Perez instead.

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Before the match, SKY reunited briefly with her former Damage CTRL allies, Asuka and Kairi Sane. Asuka offered to accompany SKY to ringside to counter Raquel Rodriguez, who would be in Perez’s corner. SKY declined the offer — but during the match, Rodriguez attempted interference, prompting Asuka and Sane to run out.

Their arrival backfired, as SKY became distracted, accidentally knocking them off the apron and allowing Perez to score a roll-up pinfall victory.

Backstage tensions boiled over when SKY confronted Asuka, pointing out she’d asked them to stay backstage. The argument escalated until Asuka shoved SKY and stormed off, with Kairi Sane looking visibly conflicted.

According to PWInsider Elite, WWE had been planning a slower build to Asuka’s heel turn, leading to a future match with IYO SKY. However, Naomi’s absence sped up the timeline, and the company opted to push forward with the angle immediately.

Interestingly, there was also a pitch for a tag match — IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley vs Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez — as a replacement for the canceled title match. Ultimately, WWE decided to stick with the SKY vs Perez singles bout instead.

No further update has been given on Naomi’s condition beyond WWE’s announcement that she was “not medically cleared” to compete.

With Asuka’s heel turn now officially in motion, fans can expect tensions in the women’s division to heat up quickly as Raw moves closer to WWE’s Clash in Paris later this month.