Asuka Defends Women’s Title In SmackDown Dark Match

The women’s division was put on the forefront as the dark main event after Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live and 205 Live episodes went off the air in Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

This event wrapped up a four day stretch of WWE shows in the city that included NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on Saturday night, Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday, and Monday Night Raw.

SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka retained her title over Charlotte Flair once Charlotte tapped to the Asuka Lock for the finish. It should be noted that the top star in the women’s division on the blue branded show didn’t appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network.

Asuka was last seen on WWE programming when she successfully retained the SmackDown Women’s Title over Becky Lynch in the opening match of Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

On the flip side, Flair did appear on the show as she was featured in the opening segment with Lynch, which saw them have a brawl.

As of this writing, WWE has yet to announce Asuka’s next challenger and opponent for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on February 17, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.