WWE Royal Rumble 2019: 4 Possible Opponents For Asuka
Credit: WWE.com
At TLC, Asuka both literally and figuratively climbed to reach the summit WWE, snagging the most prestigious title in the company, the SmackDown Women’s Championship, as her first main roster championship. She will likely head into WWE Royal Rumble 2019 as the champ, so it’s worth considering some possible opponents for her at the PPV.
Asuka is a tremendous talent as an in-ring competitor and talker, as she consistently gets the audience invested in her matches with her gestures, facial expressions, and fighting words. The Empress of Tomorrow lost her undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34 to Charlotte Flair and struggled in a feud with Carmella, but she’s back on top in WWE and will head into WWE Royal Rumble 2019 as the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
On this week’s episode of Raw, Vince McMahon promised changes to “freshen” up the main roster product, which has sagged greatly these last couple of months. Faced with low ratings and an apathetic fanbase, WWE genuinely did make improvements on Raw and SmackDown this week, including a marquee pin for Mustafa Ali, the newest member of the SmackDown roster, on Daniel Bryan and a Raw main event featuring eight women in a Gauntlet Match.
Last night on SmackDown Live, we also saw Vince put over the SmackDown Women’s Division, as he was involved in a segment that featured Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Naomi. Wise as ever, Naomi asked for a match against Asuka for the title, and she faced her tag team partner in an entertaining match where Asuka retained.
At the Royal Rumble PPV, Asuka probably won’t face Becky Lynch or Charlotte Flair, as both women are focused on Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, who screwed both women over at TLC for her own reasons. Rousey could main event WrestleMania against either – or both – superstar, so they’ll likely enter the Royal Rumble for that opportunity.
Meanwhile, Asuka needs an opponent, so here are four possible options for The Empress of Tomorrow on Jan. 27.