Backstage News On Why WWE Canceled Asuka vs. Becky Lynch At The Royal Rumble

This week’s episode of WWE Main Event included an interesting announcement for the Royal Rumble.

During the show, it was announced that Becky Lynch will get her rematch with Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble.

This week’s episode of WWE Main Event (which airs on Hulu and two weeks later on the WWE Network) is a recap show looking back at this week’s episodes of Raw and SmackDown LIVE. Scott Stanford, who hosts the show, said that Lynch would face Asuka at the Royal Rumble after footage aired of their SmackDown LIVE segment with Charlotte Flair.

As it turns out, this match has not been officially made. Paige announced Friday on Twitter that she tried to schedule Asuka vs. Lynch at the Royal Rumble before leaving her position as SmackDown LIVE General Manager, but the attempt got denied.

According to a tweet by John Pollock of POST Wrestling, WWE planned to announce the match last Tuesday on SmackDown LIVE, but it was decided before the show that the Royal Rumble card would be re-evaluated. It’s now being said that Asuka vs. Lynch at the Rumble “may or may not happen.”

As for the announcement, WWE’s TV department wasn’t notified on the change of plans. Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com is labeling this as a “communications miscue.”

Asuka won the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Lynch at WWE TLC, defeating her and Flair in a Triple Threat TLC Match. The finish continued Lynch and Charlotte’s storylines with Ronda Rousey. Rousey came out, pushed down a ladder that Lynch and Charlotte were on, and Asuka climbed another ladder to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Royal Rumble takes place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, January 27, 2019.