WWE: Asuka Squash Matches Indicative of the Development of Women’s Division

It was just over three years ago that Paige debuted on Monday Night Raw.  She challenged and defeated AJ Lee for the WWE Divas Championship that night.  Now that the women’s revolution has reinvigorated WWE’s female roster with a multitude of talent, someone with the clear talent and dominance of Asuka is not receiving the Paige treatment.  With a plethora of challengers vying for the Raw Women’s Championship, Asuka must prove her worth through the old-school method of squash matches.

The squash match is a traditional method of getting over a wrestler management finds to have the potential to be one of the faces of the company.  In a squash match, the chosen wrestler rapidly vanquishes some poor, unfortunate, under-qualified soul to show the fans how superior he/she is.

This is a method currently being used with the “Empress of Tomorrow” Asuka.  Simultaneously occurring on Monday Night Raw is the return of Paige.  Paige debuted in April of 2014 and defeated AJ Lee for the WWE Divas Championship on her first night as a member of the main roster, ending Lee’s then-record of 295 days with the belt.

Not to take anything away from Paige’s ample skillset, but she has never been advertised as being nearly as dominant as Asuka. So, why did Asuka not get a shot at the Raw Womens Championship on her first night, especially after spending 510 days as NXT Women’s Champion?

The answer is simple: the WWE women’s roster is more loaded than it has ever been before.

With all due respect to the reigns of AJ Lee and Paige, as they CARRIED a women’s division, but they were champions in an era that underutilized prospective opponents like Natalya, Tamina Snuka, and a developing Naomi; an era that was coming of the heels of another that contained such exhibitions of class such as Bra & Panties and Evening Gown Matches.

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The “Women’s Revolution” was embryonic. AJ Lee was alone at the top, and Paige’s reign at NXT Women’s Champion was all the justification needed to give her the main roster strap.  Asuka has arrived at a time when women have already proven themselves worthy of main-eventing with multiple dance partners.

Alexa Bliss has firmly asserted herself at the top of the Raw women’s division.  For the number two spot, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox (who just captained the Raw Survivor Series team), and the returning Paige are nipping at Bliss’s heels.

Each of these women have proven themselves to be more-than-viable in the ring and continue to trade victories amongst each other; Sasha Banks even main-evented last year’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Asuka is walking into a women’s locker room saturated with talent.  However, despite the level of talent, these ladies have still found themselves unable to overcome Alexa Bliss.

WWE knows it has a female phenom in the form of Asuka.  Thus, we are exposed to the beauty of the tried-and-true squash match.

Asuka has spent the weeks since her arrival tossing around no-names and Dana Brooke, including Monday night’s blink of a match against the latter which found Brooke tapping like Fred Astaire in about five seconds.  By putting her in these squash matches, especially the last one, Asuka’s dominance is solidified.

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In comparison to recent events, James Ellsworth recently beat AJ Styles…three times. Asuka made an established member of the main roster tap in five seconds, thus proving that she is ready to dispose of those coming after Alexa Bliss.

Then, it is Bliss’s turn to the be added to the list of those not ready for Asuka.