Dakota Kai Says Asuka Is Injured, Replaces Her In Queen Of The Ring On WWE Raw

Another change has been made to the ongoing King and Queen of the Ring tournaments in WWE. It was announced on Monday's episode of "WWE Raw" that Damage CNTRL's Asuka is injured, and stablemate Dakota Kai will be taking her place against recent "WWE NXT" call-up Lyra Valkyria in the tournament, a match that will also take place on Monday. Kai made the announcement herself in the ring following IYO SKY's victory against Natalya in the first round of the tournament.

Asuka reportedly suffered a knee injury in March, prior to WrestleMania 40, during a match on "WWE SmackDown." The former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion could be seen limping during the closing angle of the show, where SKY attacked former Damage CNTRL leader Bayley. Asuka and tag team partner Kairi Sane did not defend their championships at WrestleMania, and took on Naomi, Jade Cargill, and Bianca Belair at the event. The pair lost their titles to Cargill and Belair at Backlash on Saturday. As of this writing, there is currently no word on the severity of Asuka's injury or when she may return to the ring.

Kai replacing Asuka wasn't the only change in the tournaments on Monday. Drew McIntyre was pulled from his match against Finn Balor, and was replaced by Jey Uso. Uso went on to defeat the Judgment Day member to advance.