5 possible opponents for Asuka upon her return

Asuka is reportedly set to return to WWE soon, and with the women's division in need of fresh matches, it could not have come at a better time.

There will be a few interesting things to look out for with the Empress of Tomorrow back in the fold. Will she be presented as a babyface or a heel? Will her character remain the same or will she be repackaged? Will she resume some of her prior feuds or will she be matched against new opponents in an attempt to establish new stars?

No matter which path WWE chooses, there are plenty of opportunities to tell compelling stories and present exciting matches. Given some fan opinions on the current state of the product, it's anyone's guess as to what the creative team does with these opportunities.

While the WWE Universe waits for these answers, the following list outlines five potential opponents Asuka could face when she returns.

5. Asuka's former partner, Io Shirai

Asuka and Io Shirai have a lengthy history and a partnership that dates back to their pre-WWE careers. As they have never crossed paths in NXT or WWE, this is an attractive matchup, especially if the creative team decided to work their history into the story.

In this scenario, a couple of things would have to happen. First, Shirai would have to not only move to the main roster, but also have some mid-to-high-level matches so that fans can get familiar with her and her style. Second, either Shirai or the Empress would have to turn heel, and given what we've seen before, either would be fine in this role.

This program would work best as a slow progression that establishes Shirai's credibility, ties in their past relationship and slowly builds to the match. However, since the women's division is in need of an upgrade, WWE might consider getting to this match sooner rather than later.

4. Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan is on the bubble between becoming a mid-to-top-level star and an undercard afterthought. She recently had some decent matches with RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, but those bouts failed to tell her story in a way that would help advance her as a character.

Pitting Morgan against Asuka could be a renewed start for the character. The program's success would be based on two factors.

First, Morgan is solid in the ring, but needs some work delivering promos. It will fall to the returning superstar to carry the feud and help get Morgan over.

Second, Morgan has a good, relatable story to tell about how she got into the business. Fans saw a little bit of that in her feud against Lynch, but it will need to be featured much more prominently in this program.

3. Asuka's past rival, Becky Lynch

Speaking of becky Lynch: as fans may recall, The Man handed Asuka the RAW Women's Championship prior to going on maternity leave in 2020. And while Lynch has since regained the title, she did not defeat Asuka in that effort. This, in addition to their past feud, makes for a logical matchup sometime this year.

In the past, Lynch has been the babyface and Asuka has been the heel. Should WWE decide to renew this feud, it would be interesting to see the dynamic reversed. The company is currently doing this with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, and it has enabled them to get several more chapters out of a feud that has already had a long journey. Time will tell if they will try a similar approach here.

2. Bayley

Bayley is also set to return to WWE soon and has been one of the most prominent stars in the company over the past several years. With the two having an established history, it would be easy to restart this feud.

Since both are considered main event-level performers, there's no question that the matches and the build have the potential to be great. One potential pitfall lies in the booking of the finishes, since both will have to be positioned to look strong regardless of the outcome.

1. Bianca Belair

This would probably be the most intriguing match for the returning star. Asuka has not met Bianca Belair one-on-one as part of the main roster, and it is clear that the company still considers Belair a top-level talent.

As Belair is still working to rebuild herself after losing the SmackDown Women's title to Becky Lynch, a feud of this caliber would put her back into the main event scene. However, similar to a match between Asuka and Bayley, the outcome would need to be booked in a way where both performers come away looking strong.