During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler recalled an incident in 2021, which saw her inadvertently land a stiff kick to Asuka's face during a match.
One of the Empress of Tomorrow's teeth was knocked out, and several others were dislodged. Recalling the incident, Baszler appeared to make fun of Asuka by describing how she brushed off the obvious pain she was in backstage.
Here's what the former MMA fighter told Van Vliet about how things played out:
"We worked the whole finish because we knew. Yeah, it was terrible. And she’s so badass. She came to the back afterwards, and was kind of covering her mouth because she’s embarrassed, whatever. But she was like, ‘No pain. I don’t know why.’ She was so jovial. I’m like, ‘I am so sorry. Oh my gosh.’ And she was like, ‘It’s okay. No pain.’ Crazy, just soccer kicked her in the face. She was like, ‘Yeah, it’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt.’"
"But yeah, I mean, I have to make contact. And so I think doing 20 years of MMA, where I’m working my accuracy lends to this. I’m pretty confident in gaging my distance, in placing a shot properly. So I don’t know, does everyone have the time to spend the years it would take to learn how to do stuff for real? I get it. I get that. That’s not how it is, but I think there should be some aspect of that, or at least if there were that things would be."
Asuka didn't appreciate Baszler's remarks or the response they received from fans, and hit back with the following:
"My tooth was fractured due to a mistake by Shayna Baszler. At the time I told her I was okay because I did not want her to carry the guilt. But I ended up needing surgery and of course I was not okay. I just did not want her to feel responsible knowing that these things happen in our line of work. I thought that if I just endured it then everything would be fine. Seeing people mocking me in the comments makes me realize once again how cruel the world is."
"But I blame no one. I do not even wish misfortune upon those who lack kindness. In fact I am more cruel than these cruel people because I will be far happier than they are. While people spend their time mocking me I am savoring and embracing every bit of my happiness. My ideal life is already nearing its completion. 🫰🤡"
That later prompted Baszler to explain that she hadn't been making fun of Asuka, and responded to Asuka's remarks by stating, "I told the story to illustrate how effing badass Asuka is. If anyone in the comments is making fun of her, they are stupid and should have their social media time monitored."
There have been no further public interactions between the two women at this time, so we don't know whether they've now settled their beef. While Baszer occasionally works as a producer backstage at NXT, she was released by WWE last year, so she isn't likely to cross paths with Asuka in a WWE ring anytime soon.