WWE NXT: What’s Next for Asuka?
The most dominant superstar in the WWE today, Asuka’s undefeated streak has made her one of the greatest champions that this company has ever seen. But after suffering a collarbone injury at NXT Takeover Brooklyn III, what does the future hold for “The Empress of Tomorrow”?
Asuka puts on four-star classics as often as any competitor in the WWE today, but her match with Ember Moon was truly special. We knew that both wrestlers would be capable of tearing down the house, but they even managed to exceed our lofty expectations by producing one of the best matches of the year. As a whole, NXT Takeover Brooklyn had great matches up and down the card, but Asuka and Moon topped several other big names to put together the match of the weekend.
Unfortunately, that performance came at a cost, because the WWE announced yesterday evening that Asuka suffered a collarbone injury in the victory. If the injury is legitimate, it’s an incredibly tough blow, and we can only wish her the best in her recovery over the next couple of months.
Once she’s back, however, where does Asuka go from here? I honestly thought – and maybe foolishly, in hindsight – that Ember Moon would be the woman to dethrone Asuka’s historic reign at the top. There are plenty of talented performers in NXT’s Women’s Division, such as Ruby Riot and Nikki Cross, but Moon seemed like the only competitor near Asuka’s level, as evidenced by their exceptional match on Saturday.
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Now that Moon is out of the picture, Asuka’s next challenger is essentially nonexistent. The heel champion has vanquished all the opponents William Regal has thrown at her, and she’s done this multiple times in cases.
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Because Asuka has been so dominant and so few people actually want to see her lose, the only way to take the title off of her might be this injury. Losing with the intent of putting someone else over sounds nice, but it would also take some of the mystique away from Asuka, whose winning ways have blown away even Goldberg’s once-heralded undefeated streak. When she is promoted to the main roster, she needs to win the title on her debut, and that’s an easier sell to the main roster audience if she’s still undefeated.
While the WWE could elect to have Asuka face and lose to the winner of the Mae Young Classic, that doesn’t make much sense to me. I’m sure whoever wins that tournament is an exceptional wrestler, but I wouldn’t gamble on them being befitting of the status of defeating Asuka.
Instead, it would make more sense for that winner to either receive the NXT Women’s Championship outright, or to get a championship match against whoever earns the title after Asuka relinquishes it. This collarbone injury is the perfect time for WWE to strike and take the title off of their most dominant wrestler, who helped make that championship feel like the most important one in all of WWE (apologies to Brock Lesnar). The next champion could either be from the Mae Young Classic, or it could be decided among current NXT wrestlers like Moon and Riot.
I see a main roster call-up for Asuka in the near future, which will be followed by a championship win shortly thereafter. Vince McMahon doesn’t have the best track record with booking former NXT stars, but we’ve seen Paige win the championship on her debut and Finn Balor defeat Roman Reigns and then Seth Rollins for the title following his promotion. I doubt Triple H will let Asuka get shortchanged on the big stage, and it’s even less likely for her to fall short of expectations.
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As for which brand Asuka would join, that remains to be seen. It looks like we’re due for another “Superstar Shakeup” following SummerSlam, but if the rosters held firm, I’d expect Asuka to join Raw. Not only does Raw’s Women’s Division contain less depth than their blue counterpart’s, but I also believe the WWE would like to keep Asuka away from their other dominantly booked female, Charlotte Flair, for the time being. But regardless of the brand she joins, Asuka will continue to be one of the best wrestlers in the company due to her legendary in-ring work and savoir faire.