WWE SmackDown: Is Nikki Cross Ready To Get Revenge On Asuka?

Asuka’s WrestleMania 35 opponent is completely up in the air, and the same can be said for her role at Fastlane after not having a WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship match at the Elimination Chamber. Could Nikki Cross be a potential opponent for The Empress of Tomorrow?

Though Asuka hasn’t been present on WWE SmackDown as frequently as fans would have hoped, she is still one of the biggest stars on the show as the SmackDown Women’s Champion. Asuka, after all, forced Becky Lynch, who will likely end Ronda Rousey’s aura of invincibility in the main event of WrestleMania 35, to tap out in the first match of the Royal Rumble Pay Per View.

However, The Empress of Tomorrow, a fighting champion, doesn’t have an opponent scheduled for Fastlane or WrestleMania yet. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, on the other hand, at least has his title defense at Fastlane set against Kofi Kingston, while the Universal Champion and Raw Women’s Champion have known their opponents since the Royal Rumble.

Sonya Deville, Naomi, and other wrestlers on SmackDown Live have made it clear that they are interested in proving to the WWE Universe that they are the ones “ready” for Asuka.

https://twitter.com/SonyaDevilleWWE/status/1099658244195274752

https://twitter.com/NaomiWWE/status/1099458035553050625

These tweets from SmackDown talent make it seem like a No. 1 Contender’s match for Asuka’s title will be forthcoming. If that’s the case, then we should learn who Asuka’s opponent for Fastlane will be, and Mandy Rose has quite the interesting case after pinning the champ last week on SmackDown Live.

But another name to keep in mind is Nikki Cross, who has plenty of history with Asuka, dating back to their days in NXT. When Asuka was the undefeated NXT Women’s Champion, she and Cross put together an amazing Last Woman Standing match that was among the best and most grueling matches of 2017.

Cross tweeted a photo of herself and Asuka fighting on the ladder during this match, stating that she would come “find” Asuka, calling the WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion a “new toy” for the former (?) Sanity member.

There’s no doubt that the WWE Universe would be interested in seeing Cross and Asuka in the ring again, and with many women looking to make their case to face Asuka at WrestleMania, perhaps she could even be a part of a multi-woman match at the “Show of Shows”.

Naomi, Rose, Deville, and Cross all have their case to face Asuka, and Lacey Evans’s impending push could put her in that conversation, though it seems like WWE would prefer to hold off until after WrestleMania where they can push Evans on Raw.

Either way, Cross’s role during WrestleMania season will be interesting to watch, especially since she’s been impressive in the time following her NXT call-up. The pop for Cross at the Royal Rumble was tremendous, so WWE has likely taken notice of a future star.