INGLEWOOD, Calif. — After Asuka was accompanied by what looked like multiple versions of herself, Bianca Belair came out after a performance by the Divas of Compton dance team. Both women get strong crowd reactions when they are introduced, but the cheers are louder for the champ.
Belair wastes no time backing Asuka into a corner and burying shoulders in her midsection. She drops right hands on her challenger and hits a suplex, but Asuka wriggles free and kicks Bianca in the face.
Asuka’s strikes knock Belair down, followed by a bulldog and a sliding knee for a near fall. Bianca backflips out of trouble and slams Asuka to the met to earn her own two count.
When Belair goes for her backflip splash, Asuka catches her and starts working submissions. She eventually gets the Asuka Lock applied but can’t get it completely locked in as Bianca retreats to the floor.
They battle by the announce table, with Asuka looking for an armbar on the floor. Belair lifts her opponent up and executes a sitout powerbomb on the floor, impressing fans while they marvel at the impact. Bianca covers back in the ring but only gets two again.
Bianca’s corner charge slams her into the post, and Asuka quickly covers for another near fall. The challenger rolls through and looks for an ankle lock, yet Belair’s power allows her to stand for a belly to back suplex.
For a second time, Belair’s attempts to flip off the ropes gets her caught in a submission hold. Asuka knocks Bianca down with a missile dropkick, forcing Belair into another kickout.
Repeated kicks to the face drop Belair again, and they fight to the apron where Asuka kicks the champ repeatedly in the chest. Bianca has enough and hits a big right hand, but a dropkick drives her back into the post.
Now it’s Asuka’s turn to hit the post, allowing Belair to drag her up to the second rope. A big superplex follows, but the cover still isn’t enough for pinfall.
From their knees to their feet, both women keep firing right hands. Belair uses a nifty reversal to try for a pin, and Asuka replies in kind before a kick to the head allows her to score another near fall.
Dueling chants break out among the fans at SoFi Stadium. Belair hits a blockbuster and finally lands her handspring moonsault, showing some dismay when it only leads to another two count.
A big shoulder tackle by Belair leaves both women on the mat. Bianca is up first and stomps Asuka before going up top. The Empress of Tomorrow is quick to find her there, and ends up hauling the champ down by her hair for a Codebreaker and another two.
Needing a way to get the momentum back, Belair drops Asuka face first on the top turnbuckle. She wants a KOD to follow, but Asuka grabs the top rope. Asuka misses with the blue mist, but she pulls off a beautiful counter to the KOD and gets an armbar locked in.
Bianca keeps fighting, finally elevating Asuka and dropping her down with a KOD to remain Raw Women’s Champion.