Has WWE handled Asuka's debut poorly?

Up: The slow burn might be best for the long-term

There's no need to rush. That hasn't worked so well before.

There are other flaws with the Asuka-Goldberg comparison. Besides their streaks, they have little in common. Notably, they have vast differences in opponents and in the era they're in.

Goldberg wrestled against a wide pool of talent in a far different era. Kayfabe wasn't yet dead and the Monday Night Wars excited everyone. Asuka has a far narrower pool of regular opponents to work with on the main roster and fans are far more fickle now than they were when Goldberg was busy making himself a household name.

Having Asuka squash people every week would quickly run her out of competition and the local jobbers would get boring soon. Instead of getting behind her, the danger would be of fans growing tired of her. Even as her NXT run came to a close, there were increasing complaints that her streak was an act that had gotten stale and that she "buried the women's division."

Building her up more slowly instead of inserting her immediately into the title picture after squashing Emma might be best for her in the long run.

Final take

Overall, though I don't like how much offence Emma got in during her two debut matches, I remain what I was before on Asuka's prospect of main roster success — cautiously optimistic.

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