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 night to set up a shot at Bianca Belair and the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.

The Empress of Tomorrow outlasted five of the top female Superstars from Raw and SmackDown, as she defeated 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 the Raw women’s title.

It was The Empress who emerged victorious, though, after locking in an armbar on The Princess of Staten Island.

Two nights after Rhea Ripley won the women’s Royal Rumble match and then decided to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, a plan was put in place to determine Belair’s opponent for the April 1-2 showpiece.

WWE official Adam Pearce announced that one of the two Elimination Chamber matches would be for a shot at the Raw women’s title, and four of the participants earned their way into the match through their Royal Rumble performance.

In addition to women’s Rumble winner Ripley, the likes of Asuka, Morgan, Rodriguez and Cross were among the final five competitors in the Battle Royal, 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 bouts, 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 was ready and willing to face anyone at WrestleMania 39, one year after beating Becky Lynch for the Raw women’s title at The Show of Shows.

Now, The EST 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 Empress 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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