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00:003.
00:12From far and wide and 90 years away
00:19Cast from the shadows of our own way
00:23For far and wide and scream at the name
00:27The keys and your grace is the ground like rain
00:30It's funny why you're not years old
00:33It was a nature they call my name
00:37Introducing first from Osaka, Japan
00:43The Empress of Tomorrow
00:46Asuka
00:49The Empress who wants to become queen
00:55Asuka, who returned to action a couple of weeks ago
00:58After missing 13 months with a knee injury
01:01In a recent interview, Asuka talked about the recovery process
01:05She said it wasn't easy
01:06There were many tough days
01:08But the voice of the WWE fans begging her to return
01:11Are what kept her going
01:13She never stopped
01:14She matched her intensity in the training room
01:17To rehab, to get ready
01:19And Wade, she says she's better than ever
01:22And this is just the beginning
01:24Well, she certainly has been better than ever on this run in the tournament so far
01:29I think blowing everyone's minds at the caliber of performances she's put in
01:34The knee clearly not an issue now
01:37I do question the endurance however
01:40Given that we're in such a hot, humid atmosphere
01:43Even though we're inside here in Riyadh
01:46I'm sweating pockets
01:47And that may be a talent factor
01:49For a competitor
01:50Who has barely competed in over 400 days
01:54A storm
02:07Is coming
02:11And her opponent
02:36From Merrill Beach, Florida
02:40Jade Cargill
02:45Jade Cargill has never competed for a singles championship
02:51In WWE
02:53There's an opportunity to change that
02:55If she wins tonight
02:57She would go on to SummerSlam
02:59To take on the WWE Women's Champion
03:02If Asuka wins
03:03She would headline SummerSlam
03:05Against the Women's World Champion
03:09It was back in May of 2024
03:14Last year
03:15And back last
03:17Lyon, France
03:18Jade Cargill
03:19And Bianca Belair
03:20Took the tag team titles
03:21From the Kabuki Warriors
03:22Kairi Stane and Asuka
03:24And it was on that night
03:25That Asuka injured her knee
03:26That would cost her 13 months of action
03:29Wade, will that come into play?
03:30Will that be in her head
03:31Here tonight?
03:32Yeah, I don't think it will
03:34Sometimes you have that kind of
03:36Spectre hacking over you
03:37When a competitor has injured you
03:39And you either fear them doing it again
03:42Or you really want to get vengeance
03:43It was a fairly innocuous injury
03:46The way it went down
03:47It wasn't a targeted attack
03:49On the knee of Asuka
03:50I don't think that will come into play
03:51In the side of Asuka
03:52Whatsoever
03:53First time ever
03:54One-on-one
03:55Between these two women
03:56In 2021
04:00Zelina Vega
04:02Won the Queen's Crown
04:04Last year
04:05Nia Jax
04:06Won the Queen of the Ring
04:08She went on to SummerSlam
04:09To beat Bayley
04:10For the WWE Women's Title
04:12Who will become
04:13The latest Queen
04:14Of the Ring
04:15Two highly respectful competitors
04:19But it did come to blows
04:21Last night on SmackDown
04:22The thin veneer of civility
04:25Was scratched off quickly
04:26With Asuka getting the best of Jade
04:29Last night
04:30And Jade said on the countdown show
04:31Asuka made a mistake
04:32When it came to blows like that
04:34So let's talk strategy
04:36If you're Jade Cargill in this matchup
04:38How do you match
04:38A woman who I believe
04:40Is the first ballot
04:40Hall of Famer
04:41In Asuka
04:42Well clearly
04:43There's a massive disparity
04:44In resumes here
04:45An experienced
04:47Jay Cargill
04:48Miles behind Asuka
04:49But you've got to hope
04:51That power game
04:52That you're known for
04:53Really neutralizes that disparity
04:55In the early goings
04:57And Asuka
04:57Looking to put Cargill away early
04:59Asuka
04:59Going to pull out
05:00Every trick in the book
05:02Here tonight
05:02Cargill turning it around
05:04And there's the power
05:05You're talking about
05:05For the side slam
05:07Cover
05:07Hook on the inside leg
05:09And a kick out
05:10It's really hard to find
05:11A weakness
05:11With regards to
05:12Jade Cargill
05:13Occasionally
05:14The temperament
05:16Has been an issue
05:17And over a fact that
05:17Nia Jax has exploited that
05:20In the past
05:20And got Jade Cargill
05:22To essentially get herself
05:23Disqualified
05:24Oh nice
05:25Dragon screw on the
05:26Rope by Asuka
05:27Who's taken over
05:28Now you talk about a weakness
05:29In Cargill
05:30One of the things I noticed
05:32In her semi-final matchup
05:33Against Roxanne Perez
05:34Was the fact that
05:36She got frustrated
05:37That Roxanne Perez
05:38Had her out of her game
05:39And she got extremely
05:40Frustrated
05:41And almost lost her
05:42And now
05:42The knee comes into play
05:44And that's often an issue
05:45When the competitors
05:46Are bigger and stronger
05:47Than most of the roster
05:49When things aren't
05:50Going their way
05:51It's not what they're used to
05:53They're supposed to be dominant
05:54They're supposed to be
05:55Out of control proceedings
05:56And sometimes
05:57They lose their rank
05:58When that doesn't happen
06:00And this is a tremendous
06:01Strategy
06:02Cover now
06:03By Asuka
06:04Kick out
06:04To take out
06:05The leg of Cargill
06:06And make it an even
06:07Playing field
06:08Take the power game away
06:09And even the way
06:10That went down
06:11Asuka really
06:12Baited Cargill
06:13Into making a mistake
06:14In the early goings
06:15Realizing
06:16Look the bigger
06:16Powerful superstar
06:18J. Kong
06:19If I take that knee out
06:20Suddenly
06:20Suddenly we're a lot more
06:21Equal in terms of the power game
06:22Equal in terms of the power game
06:23Asuka a four-time world champion
06:25Asuka a four-time world champion
06:26Oh jeez
06:27As NXT women's champion
06:29She held it a record
06:30510 days
06:33Four-time tag champ
06:35She's won the money in the bank
06:36Royal Rumble
06:37And who won't forget
06:38The first 914 days
06:41She was at NXT
06:42And at WWE
06:43Wade
06:43She was undefeated
06:45She's won pretty much everything
06:46Apart from the queen of the ring
06:48And then with his hair
06:49Yeah got a knee bar on
06:51On Jade Cargill
06:53The damaged knee
06:54Asuka now
06:55Not a single thing
06:58Has gone right
06:59For Jade Cargill
07:00Right from the beginning
07:01That is how good
07:02The strategy of Asuka has been
07:04Yeah but Jade Cargill
07:05Looking to make it back
07:06To her feet
07:06Shoulders down
07:07Momentarily
07:08And a great move
07:09There's the power
07:10Of Cargill coming into play
07:12Dumping Asuka
07:13On the back of her head
07:14Deadly
07:15Wheelbarrow
07:16German suplex
07:17And you're right
07:18The power game
07:19Has finally got a
07:20Bit of breathing room here
07:22For Cargill
07:23We're going to learn a lot
07:25About Jade Cargill
07:26In this match
07:27Wade
07:27The fact that she's
07:28Got a damaged knee already
07:30After the attack by Asuka
07:31Yeah what's been the knock
07:33On Jade Cargill
07:34In a run in WWE
07:35So far
07:35It's that she's been tagging
07:37With Bianca Belair
07:39And trust me
07:40Pretty much
07:41Anyone can win a tag title
07:43With Bianca Belair
07:44But we saw Cargill
07:46Step up huge
07:47At Wrestlemania
07:48On her own
07:48Against former friend
07:49Naomi
07:50And that's the kind
07:52Of confidence building win
07:54That has propelled
07:56Cargill
07:57To this final
07:57And now the
07:58Fall away slam
07:59By Jade Cargill
08:01And a
08:01Kip up
08:02Sure how wise
08:03That was on a bad knee
08:04But she pulled it off
08:05Now Asuka
08:10Back to her feet
08:11And a kick
08:12Drops Asuka
08:13That was a bullseye
08:14Using full extension
08:16Of those long limbs
08:17Come on
08:18Look at Al
08:22Power Asuka
08:23Again with a
08:24Choke slam
08:24Dropping her
08:25In the middle
08:25Of the ring
08:26Cover now
08:26For the win
08:27Asuka
08:28Just got a shoulder
08:29Up barely
08:30You've got to give
08:31Jade Cargill
08:32All the credit
08:32In the world
08:33She gets better
08:34Every single time
08:35We see it
08:36Clearly putting in
08:37The hard hours
08:38Behind the scenes
08:39Nailing a choke slam
08:40Here and Asuka
08:42Who dominated
08:43The first five minutes
08:44Of this
08:44Looks like a changed
08:45Woman now
08:46Although of course
08:47Fighting back
08:48Yeah and a
08:48Jade Cargill
08:49One of the
08:49One of her toughest
08:50Matches to date
08:52Tough matchup
08:53When it comes to Asuka
08:54So well skilled
08:55In everything
08:56Both women down
09:00Finals of the
09:01Queen of the ring
09:02Sold out tonight
09:03The Kingdom Arena
09:05Riyadh
09:06Saudi Arabia
09:07It's been an incredible
09:08Couple of days
09:09As we prepare
09:10For the Royal Rumble
09:11Here in Riyadh
09:12First part of 2026
09:15Both women
09:17Struggling at this point
09:18They've both taken
09:19And given
09:21Massive
09:21Massive shots
09:22The gleam of that crown
09:25Has to be driving
09:26These two on
09:27Jade Cargill
09:33Beginning to get
09:34The upper hand
09:34Now delivering
09:35The right hands
09:35To the blows
09:36Asuka though
09:36There's that backhand
09:38And a kick
09:38To the midsection
09:39And here comes
09:40Asuka
09:40This right here
09:41Is classic Asuka
09:42Yeah nine times
09:43Out of ten
09:44You always back
09:44The powerhouse
09:45In a strike exchange
09:46Asuka's different though
09:48An absolute expert
09:49In the strike game
09:51And if Jade Cargill
09:52Didn't know
09:53Well now she does
09:54Asuka a joy to watch
09:56And now she's gonna
09:56Go up top
09:57She's got Cargill
09:58On the ropes
09:59And she knows it
09:59Asuka
10:00Missile block kick
10:02Down goes Cargill
10:03Asuka will go
10:03For the cover here
10:04And try to win
10:05The tournament
10:05Jade kicks out
10:07Well you talked
10:08A few moments ago
10:09About how we're gonna
10:10Learn a lot about
10:11Jade Cargill
10:12Now it is learning time
10:14Because Cargill
10:15Cargill really is gonna
10:16Have to dig deep
10:17And come up with
10:18Some answers here
10:18She's on the ropes
10:20She's in big trouble
10:22And Asuka smells victory
10:24Asuka have planned here
10:36Jade Cargill though
10:38No standing switch
10:39By Jade
10:39Power now
10:40Asuka rolls through
10:41Shoulders down
10:42Is it enough
10:43Not quite
10:43Asuka's doing a great job
10:45Of just confusing Cargill
10:46But wait up
10:47And again the power
10:49Of Cargill
10:49Overwhelming Asuka
10:51Sit-out powerbomb
10:52Asuka gets out at two
10:55Just one moment
10:56Of mental clarity
10:58From Jade Cargill
10:59Turns the tie
11:00Once again
11:01Blocking that knee strike
11:03Powering up her opponent
11:04Driving it down
11:06That sit-out powerbomb
11:07That almost
11:08Almost
11:09Gets the crown
11:11In the hands
11:12Of Jade Cargill
11:12Referee
11:13Daphne LaShawn
11:14Matchup
11:15Armbar now
11:15By Asuka
11:16Armbar now
11:17By Asuka
11:18Center of the ring
11:19And that arm
11:19Is fully extended
11:21Now desperately
11:21Trying to block
11:23Just about
11:25Hugging those arms
11:26How she powered
11:27All of that
11:27Oh God
11:28Asuka
11:29Back into the full arm
11:30Bar now
11:31On Jade
11:31And a massive hyper extension
11:34Smart by Cargill
11:35Cargill though
11:35Turns it into a
11:36Pitting combination
11:37And a
11:37Kick out
11:39There's a big boot
11:40By Jade
11:40Flooring Asuka
11:41And now Cargill
11:45Went up
11:46Asuka though
11:48Jade was going for
11:49Jade and Asuka now
11:50Again
11:50Looking for the Asuka lock
11:52Looking for the Asuka lock
11:53On Cargill
11:54Long way from the ropes
11:56Is now in extreme agony
11:58Cargill in trouble
11:59Asuka with the Asuka lock
12:03In
12:03Cargill trying to
12:04Fight out of it
12:05Again trying to
12:05Turn it into a
12:06Pitting combination
12:07And she does again
12:08And again
12:08Another great counter
12:09That was so resourceful
12:11From Cargill
12:12But she took
12:12Defenders out
12:13For the old slot
12:15That followed
12:16And Asuka
12:20Could be closing in
12:22Empress impact
12:26But caught
12:26Intercepted by Cargill
12:28Great counter
12:29Down goes Asuka
12:31Cover
12:32Off Jade
12:34Jade
12:36Cargill wins
12:37Queen of the ring
12:38Well Jade Cargill
12:48Is your
12:49Queen of the ring
12:50But she had to
12:51Crawl through hell
12:52To get there
12:54Absolutely spent
12:56Exhausted
12:58But block out
13:00The pain
13:00You are the queen
13:02Of WWE
13:04Jade
13:04Biggest win
13:05Of Jade Cargill's
13:07Singles career
13:08Here in WWE
13:09Thus far
13:10Not only is she
13:12Queen of the ring
13:13She's going to
13:14Summer Slam
13:15Asuka
13:15Had the Asuka
13:16Locked in
13:17But another great
13:18Counter by Jade
13:18Very impressive
13:19Was Jade with her
13:20Counters tonight
13:21Yeah clearly been
13:22Working on
13:23Reversals
13:24And escape plans
13:26But this was the
13:27Moment I thought
13:27It was game over
13:28Asuka immediately
13:29Pouncing
13:30Going in for that
13:31Empress impact
13:33But the power
13:33Of Cargill
13:34Was too much
13:35Honk Asuka
13:36Empress of tomorrow
13:38Goes down
13:39Victory in sight
13:41No mistakes
13:42From here
13:42For Cargill
13:43General managers
13:45Pierce and Elvis
13:46In the ring
13:46To present Jade Cargill
13:48With the queen
13:49Of the ring crown
13:50And the new queen
13:54Of the ring
13:55Jade Cargill
13:59As Jade celebrates
14:06Goes head up
14:07To Byron Saxton
14:07Jade you are now
14:10Headed to Summer Slam
14:12In a match
14:13For the WWE
14:14Women's Championship
14:16How do you feel?
14:19You know Byron
14:20When I first
14:21Into this tournament
14:22It felt like the world
14:24Was on my shoulders
14:26But you know what?
14:29For the people out there
14:31Who are down themselves
14:34Praise yourself
14:36Because you are
14:36Fighting through the boos
14:38Don't let them
14:41Tell you who you are
14:42You showed them
14:44And the grind
14:46Don't stop
14:47A storm
14:49Is coming
14:50For Summer Slam
14:52Well it remains
14:57To be seen
14:57Who will be the
14:58WWE Women's Champion
15:00At Summer Slam
15:01Could be Tiffany Stratton
15:02Could be Naomi
15:03Who's missed money
15:04In the bank
15:05But Jade Cargill
15:06Has an opportunity
15:08MetLife Stadium
15:10In New Jersey
15:10The first weekend
15:11Of August
15:12To win her first
15:21Singles Championship
15:23In WWE
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