This Sunday, the 38-year-old from Osaka, Japan, faces possibly her greatest test in her five-year WWE career. Asuka will have to take on not one, but two champions at this Sunday’s SummerSlam event in separate matches—against SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks.

As difficult as SummerSlam will be for Asuka, her journey to the “biggest party of the summer” has made her ready for this moment. After 10 years of wrestling in Japan, she signed with WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, in 2015.

Her time in NXT helped Asuka acclimate to the WWE and get her acquainted with western wrestling fans.

“NXT is a very special place for me,” Asuka told Newsweek through her translator, former WWE superstar Funaki. “I needed that space to have a successful start in WWE.”

Asuka actually had a phenomenal start, becoming NXT Women’s Champion less than a year after debuting—defeating Bayley for it, no less—and went undefeated in her time on the black and gold brand.

“The Empress of Tomorrow” has had her ups and downs since being promoted to the main roster in 2017—whether it was winning titles or not being utilized—but 2020 brought a change for Asuka, like it has for virtually everyone.

Asuka told Newsweek that not having fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t affect her in-ring ability, but it did give her an opportunity to show her personality on camera. Whether she’s dancing on tables or laughing at the commentary team, Asuka has been the most entertaining wrestler in the WWE during this time.

Her hard work in and out of the ring paid off when she won this year’s Money in the Bank match in May, guaranteeing Asuka a title match of her choosing. She didn’t have to use it, though, since the then-RAW Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch, surprisingly announced her pregnancy and that she would be relinquishing the title to Asuka.

“To be honest with you, I was so surprised when Becky gave the title to me,” Asuka said. “The title was in the box and Becky told me to open it, then I saw the title, but I still didn’t understand what was going on. When Becky told me that I was champion I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I then felt a responsibility for Becky’s spirit also.”

It wasn’t long before Bayley and Sasha Banks set their sights on Asuka in their pursuit to capture every women’s championship in the WWE. The duo conspired to win the RAW Women’s Championship from Asuka, when Bayley attacked Asuka’s tag team partner, Kairi Sane, to force her to quit the match to save her friend.

This incident wrote Sane out of the WWE, as the wrestler announced she was leaving the company.

“Kairi is a great partner. I was by myself before Kairi Sane came, but I found a powerful partner,” Asuka said. “In the ring, and outside the ring, we will always help each other. For me, Kairi Sane is and will always be a powerful partner.”

When asked if she thinks we’ll see Kairi Sane back in the WWE, Asuka says, “never say never,” but she does hope that she will, so they can be a tag team again.

The loss of Kairi Sane has lit a fire under Asuka. In the weeks leading to SummerSlam, Asuka did everything she could to earn title shots against both Sasha and Bayley, even towing the line between face and heel. However, Asuka tells us that her style is neither face nor heel, and the same goes for her persona, Kana, a more vicious character that has only been seen in Japan.

“Kana style is equal to Asuka style, but if everyone wants to see Kana, then maybe we’ll see it soon in the future,” Asuka teased.

In her pursuit of regaining the gold, Asuka has also partnered with Shayna Baszler, another former NXT Women’s Champion. The two successfully defeated Sasha and Bayley recently on Monday Night RAW, and there was obvious in-ring chemistry between the two.

“I think Shayna Baszler and I made a great tag team,” Asuka said. “I worked so comfortably with her, and if the time is right, I want to challenge Bayley and Sasha Banks for the tag team titles.”

Asuka is quick to point out that Shayna has already challenged her for the RAW Women’s Championship if she wins, so that match would have to come first. Although Asuka may be looking ahead at potential future opponents, she understands that she has a lot to do to overcome both championships this Sunday.

“Sasha is a great athlete. I worked with Sasha Banks a lot, but she always changes her wrestling style,” Asuka explained. “I need to update my wrestling style to keep up with Sasha. As for Bayley, she’s also a great athlete, but when she’s around Sasha Banks they are a force, and I have to be careful at SummerSlam.”

Watch Asuka take on Bayley and Sasha Banks this Sunday at the SummerSlam pay-per-view on the WWE Network, starting at 7 p.m. EDT.