WWE: 5 Quintessential Asuka Matches
By Warren Hayes
Credit: WWE.com
3. Asuka vs. Bayley II, NXT Takeover Brooklyn II
Their first encounter at Takeover Austin was fantastic. It was also significant since it was the starting point of Asuka’s championship run. However, the second match between Asuka and Bayley is arguably superior in every way.
The scuttlebutt had been doing the rounds: Bayley’s time in NXT was done and this was likely her last match before heading to Raw. Nobody really expected her to win. But that didn’t keep the underlying story of this match to be told to perfection: Bayley back in her ultra-babyface underdog role, queen Asuka confident and bumptious… even the most cynical smart fan was made a believer, that maybe, just maybe, Bayley wasn’t really leaving and was about to be crowned champion again.
In the end, Asuka retained with a spectacularly brutal fight that highlighted her capacity to hang as a heel just enough to make sure Bayley got the emotional send-off she deserved. But she didn’t overdo it to the point of actually turning heel and heading over to the dark side.
Oh, and be forewarned, there’s a nasty side-effect to re-watching this match. It will force you to remember how crazy over Bayley was in NXT and how bungled her main roster call-up was. So yeah, be warned.