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#3 The first Japanese women's champion on the main roster in 24 years
In November of 1994, Bull Nakano won the then WWF Women's Championship. She dropped it to Alundra Blayze the following April. Until Asuka climbed the ladder at TLC, that was the last time a Japanese wrestler held a main roster women's championship.
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What makes the breaking of this quarter-century gap even more significant is the prominence women's wrestling now has compared to Bull Nakano's time. Asuka's success came in the main event - a true sign that women's wrestling has much more attention now than it did in 1994. Arguably, Asuka is the first Japanese wrestler to hold a main event title in WWE, period.
A female WWE star said her life is in danger. Details HERE
This was yet another important signal to international female wrestlers who want to pursue their dreams of making it in the big time. Kairi Sane and Io Shirai, two of the brightest female prospects in NXT, were watching their compatriot very closely, and after congratulating her, had an interesting discussion about how different (and more difficult) it is to succeed in WWE compared to their homeland.
Sane and Shirai are two world class talents in their own right, and it must be a welcome sign to them to watch Asuka succeed, which is a thing that will open many new doors for them when they eventually move to the main roster. They'll be more motivated to know that there probably won't be another quarter-century gap between Asuka and the next Japanese women's champion in WWE.
