Has WWE handled Asuka's debut poorly?

Up: Asuka hasn't looked different from NXT

Asuka basically looked like Asuka.

On the bright side, Asuka hasn't looked very different from the way she was handled in NXT. She was a bit slower at TLC, but she did just come back from an injury. She also hasn't been given a new gimmick or a stupid nickname.

Her move set doesn't appear to have been limited either, as has been the case with other NXT alumni. At TLC, I was wondering where her jumping armbar went and hoped it wasn't taken from her. I wasn't disappointed the next night on Raw.

Asuka's matches weren't that different from her NXT encounters either. While the wisdom of not having the squash that was expected is up for debate, Asuka rarely outright squashed her opponents in NXT. When she did, it was a local jobber most of the time. It's worth remembering that even Eva Marie gave her competition once.

For all the comparisons with Goldberg (here's that part about comparisons again), Asuka's thing was never running through people like him, but rather finding ways to halt her opponent's momentum and capitalize for the win, as we saw on Raw when Asuka countered Emma's roll-up attempt into the Asuka Lock.

This is the "puzzle," as Ember Moon called it, that Asuka presents. That hasn't changed on the main roster so far. If Asuka continues to do this and frustrate opponents to no end, she should be more than fine.

And hey, if the matches help to elevate Emma further, that isn't a bad thing, either.