WWE Elimination Chamber 2018: Live Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

Photo Source: WWE.com

Nia Jax vs. Asuka

Result: Asuka defeated Nia Jax via pinfall

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

One thing is for certain: Nia Jax ain’t playing around.

But it’s one thing to do that before the match, when your opponent is nowhere in sight. It’s quite another to do it to an actual, living, breathing wrestling machine, and not an inanimate object.

Once things got under way, it was a very simple story being told – and Corey Graves alluded to it early on in the commentary. Nia Jax was competing to win, while Asuka may have been competing to not lose. It sounds like the same thing, but it’s an important distinction.

Think of a football team with a comfortable lead in the second half. They’ll run a prevent defense, to try and “prevent” the other team from making a big play and getting closer in score. But in doing so, the defense is vulnerable to a lot of short plays, that could be even worse. Asuka, in trying to keep the streak intact, allowed Jax to control the pace of the match while just (mostly) avoiding the “big play.”

But despite eating a ton of punishment, Asuka won in the end. Lots of attempted submissions throughout the match, but it was a pinfall that ended it. The finish was a bit sloppy – Asuka couldn’t really get a good cover on the pin attempt after the hurricanrana – but it’s the right call. Asuka’s streak shouldn’t end on a B-show, and I don’t think Nia should be the one to end it.

What was even better than the match itself was the post-match beatdown. Nia clearly wouldn’t be happy in failing to get into the title match at WrestleMania, so she took out her frustrations on Asuka. Watching Asuka sell the beating was impressive, since you don’t often see her in that light. It really makes Nia look like the biggest bad on the entire show.