Asuka's gonna kill you.
Out of everything that happened last night at TLC: Tables Ladders and Chairs, the most predictable outcome was that of Asuka's main roster debut match. Emma lost to the former NXT Women's Champion. But there's little shame in that; everybody loses to Asuka. She is currently undefeated in WWE singles matches; back in May 2017, she broke Goldberg's 173-win undefeated streak (Goldberg reached out on Twitter to praise her). And for anyone who's seen how hard she kicks and how utterly creepy her game face is, it's no wonder she managed it.
Here are the women who have the best chance of putting Asuka down for the count. Because all streaks come to an end; just ask The Undertaker. But it won't happen anytime soon, and when it does happen, it'll be on a massive stage. Empress of Tomorrow indeed.
Nia Jax
Up until a week ago, Jax would have been one of the most likely to break the streak. She's physically dominant, and she's right on the edge of clinching gold. She's body positive on social media. She's got the bloodlines because she's The Rock's cousin. But she reportedly walked out on Raw, which--rumor has it--was due to her unhappiness with creativity. According to Randall Ortman of CagesideSeats, she wanted to be the one who fought Asuka at TLC. And WWE doesn't take well to an employee who refuses to jump when the company tells her to.
Bayley
Again, not too long ago, this would be a different conversation. Bayley was the most beloved babyface coming out of NXT. But then, the Raw writers didn't book her into anything compelling. She lost a whole lot of steam. And on top of that, she's already lost to Asuka twice. At one point, an Asuka defeat would have been a Cinderella story for Bayley. Now, it's a little too late. Bayley needs to build herself back up again before rehashing this feud.
Nikki Cross
Nikki Cross isn't on the main roster yet--she's still in NXT. But when she finally gets there, she has a small chance of dethroning the Empress. Cross stands out because she is so radically different from every other woman on the roster, what with her rope biting and unhinged body language. She already has a high profile loss against Asuka: they fought in a Last Woman Standing match this past June. But despite that loss, Cross is hardcore tough in a way that many of the other women are not. She's a dark horse pick.
Alexa Bliss
One thing this past year taught us is that fans should never underestimate Little Miss Bliss. First, she held the Smackdown women's title. Now, she's holding the Raw women's title. And how has she managed that, despite being being shorter and weighing less than everyone else on the roster? She did it by being smart. By dodging at the right time, so her opponent goes crashing into the ringpost. By picking her spots and exploiting them to the best of her ability. Unfortunately, that may not be enough to believably defeat Asuka. One hellacious kick, and Bliss will be finished. Moving on.
Sasha Banks
Banks is, aside from Asuka herself, the most talented female performer currently on the main roster. Other wrestlers have better athleticism and better technical chops, but Banks possesses masterful ring psychology. The problem is that The Boss is currently a babyface, which is not her strength. Her heel character, on the other hand, is a veritable heat magnet, and it’s through that character that Banks does her best, most believable work. That version of Sasha Banks could beat Asuka. But until she turns bad, she has little to no chance.
Kaira Sane
The winner of the Mae Young Classic, Sane has made some massive waves in a short amount of time. She’s already famous in her native Japan, and she has the best elbow drop in the business; she’s fairly small, but she throws her whole body into the windup of the move. She’s positioned herself as a future champion on NXT, and a win against Asuka would be believable under the right circumstances. The only roadblock is the time factor; Sane will be a member of NXT for the foreseeable future. And by the time she moves up to the main roster, it might be too late to go through the process of first building her name recognition, and then giving her such a prominent win.
Charlotte Flair
The true star of the women’s division, Flair is the obvious, no-brainer choice to finally topple Asuka’s streak. She’s the most decorated out of all the women. She has the height, athleticism, and prowess to make it believable. And she’s got the Flair genes, which means that the fans would accept the outcome; if Asuka loses, she needs to lose to the best.
A big question mark, strangely enough, is Flair’s finisher, the figure-eight leglock. Asuka would have to tap out to lose to Flair, and after the way she’s been built up, it’s difficult to imagine Asuka tapping out to anything. Flair’s other finisher, the Natural Selection, won’t get the job done either.
Still, it’s always a poor idea to bet against Flair. And she has some time to build up to her win (or find a suitable finisher). Flair is currently on SmackDown, and either Asuka or Flair needs to switch brands to make this dream match happen.
Ember Moon
And lastly, we come to the woman who, if we’re being honest, should have already handed Asuka her first loss. Ember Moon took Asuka to her limit twice, on two different occasions. One of those times, at NXT TakeOver Orlando, Asuka had to push the referee into the ropes in order to preserve her perfect record.
The two women’s second encounter at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III was even better than the first encounter. Moon scored multiple near pinfalls on Asuka; despite walking away with the win, Asuka had never been more challenged. And it was during this match that Asuka injured herself, forcing her to vacate the NXT women’s title. She then moved to Raw, undefeated, which brings us to the current day.
Out of everyone on WWE's payroll, Moon deserves to beat Asuka the most, and she's the most likely to do so, eventually. She’s a powerhouse in her own right and a future star in the making. But since Moon is still in NXT, this second rematch won’t happen any time soon. And until then, we can look forward to the weeks and possibly months of Asuka-driven dominance to come.
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