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Although it’s been a momentous year for Asuka, WWE still seems to have some family struggles to put their stories into interesting.
The Empress of Tomorrow has been without a doubt one of the most valuable members of the list in 2020, her hysterical character work, association with Kairi Sane and exceptional combat have made her one of the highlights of the programming of the WWE in an unorthodox era of shows without live crowds. The company has apparently rewarded Asuka for this strong career with more historical accolades to add to her impressive resume.
In May, the first female Royal Rumble winner climbed the ladder to the top of WWE’s world headquarters as the fourth woman to win the mantle of Ms. Money in the Bank. As a result, she unknowingly became the successor to Becky Lynch for the Raw women’s title and the second Grand Slam champion. Asuka is also the only survivor and over the weekend she won the women’s tag team titles for the second time with Charlotte Flair.
With all of that considered, it would be ridiculous to claim that the most recent dual champion hasn’t had a successful season in WWE. He has made history on more than one occasion and the company will inevitably induct the Japanese star into its Hall of Fame. However, arguably he has yet to achieve success as a singles star outside of NXT which is not a footnote to someone else’s story.
This trend can be traced back to her victory in the women’s Royal Rumble opener in 2018. At the event, Ronda Rousey’s debut overshadowed her historic victory as the biggest starter of the night. In December of the same year, Asuka defeated Lynch and Flair in the first TLC women’s match to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship, her first individual gold test on the main roster. But she only climbed the ladder to dethrone The Man because Rousey interfered.
This made it appear that The Empress of Tomorrow simply profited from what would become a rivalry that later spearheaded WrestleMania 35. To add insult to injury, Flair infamously beat her for the title weeks before The Showcase of the Immortals, leaving Asuka. languishing in the opening show.
So it was hard not to be tentative but excited for her reign as Raw women’s champion. After all, her period with the belt began as a set aside for a more notable scenario again when Lynch vacated the title to go on maternity leave. Yes, it was a poignant moment, which was clearly unwritten, but it made Asuka seem like a placeholder rather than someone who beat the best to earn her place at the top of the division. Still, there were hopes that this moment would lead to a better tenure than his time with the SmackDown counterpart.
This was the opportunity to hand over the baton to the third women’s triple crown champion and let her flourish as the new face of the division in the red brand. Unfortunately, his combined 198 days as a flag bearer have been a real mixed bag. Asuka has delivered some stellar matches when she was given a formidable opponent like Sasha Banks, but it’s easy to forget that she’s the champion at times because she hasn’t been part of a memorable story all year.
Asuka dropped the belt as a plot point in Banks and Bayley’s “two-woman power trip” and their eventual feud. Now, she is apparently on the journey as Flair’s new friend as half of the WWE women’s tag team champions.
Tellingly, the Queen pinned Shayna Baszler to capture the titles in her first match, isn’t it? It’s the same pattern, right? Asuka is a double champion, but she didn’t win this accolade on her own merits. No, it was in the service of Charlotte’s triumphant return and revenge for Nia Jax, who put it on the shelf in June.
The Empress of Tomorrow is a staple in WWE TLC. She is undefeated in the event she debuted in 2017. Asuka has competed in the main pay-per-view main event twice and has won championship gold on the undercard twice. That sounds good on the surface, but it feels less meaningful under a microscope because so many of its achievements are coincidental. This leaves fans in a similar position to late 2018, hoping that they will finally get a proper angle that shows Asuka as a competent champion.
This very well could lead to a rematch between Asuka and Flair and hopefully a definitive victory over their longtime rival. At this point this feels like fool’s gold because we’ve been here before. Of course, some would argue that the longest-reigning NXT women’s champion doesn’t need to prove anything because she’s already accomplished more than most of her contemporaries. But a significant victory on her own terms continues to elude her and will continue to weigh on her going into 2021.
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