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Since her in-ring debut in NXT back on October 07, 2015 at NXT Takeover: Respect, Asuka has been presented as a serious monster. She is definitely the Brock Lesnar of the women’s division.
Asuka has also gone undefeated in WWE since her debut and has held the NXT Women’s title for a record total of 523 days (if you go by what WWE says). In fact, she has been such a monster that she now has the longest undefeated streak in the history of WWE-owned promotions. Goldberg previously held that record with 173 straight wins in his initial WCW run. However, on May 14, 2017, at an NXT live event, Asuka defeated Bianca Blair to take her tally to 174-0.
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Since breaking Goldberg’s record, Asuka has now moved up to the main roster. She did forfeit the NXT Women’s title in the process. But she vacated it and took time off rather than losing it in a match.
This means that Asuka is now on the big stage and still has her streak intact. While some people may want it to continue forever, WWE will almost inevitably end it while she is on the main roster. Here are five ways they could do so.
#1 Inside the Elimination Chamber
When the brand split returned, so did the Elimination Chamber. In 2017, it was a SmackDown Live exclusive PPV. However, the honour will now fall to Raw — the brand Asuka is on.
This would be the perfect place for Asuka to lose her streak. It won't take place until February of 2018, meaning that WWE have plenty of time to let Asuka win the Raw Women’s Championship and continue to beat everyone on the Raw roster.
She could then be forced to defend her title inside the Elimination Chamber — this would also be the first Women's Elimination Chamber match.
So, if WWE wanted to end Asuka's streak and protect her at the same time, they could have her enter the chamber at number one and then beat four other women before losing.
By having Asuka go up against such extreme odds in such a harsh structure and then only fall at the final hurdle against another top woman, she would still look very strong. And would just be without her streak, which as Charlotte's PPV streak proved, can often just get in the way of stories sometimes.
#2 In a match with Kairi Sane
Kairi Sane was the first ever winner of the Mae Young Classic, which took place earlier this year on the WWE Network. Sane won the final by defeating Shayna Baszler and earning herself a shot at the NXT Women’s title, which is still currently vacant after Asuka dropped it.
Sane is still only new to WWE, but she has proven outside of WWE and in the Mae Young Classic that she is a great wrestler. Plus, given Asuka has not long debuted on Raw, WWE will likely want to wait a while before they end her streak.
This will gave Sane time to learn how things work in WWE and also allow her to win the NXT Women’s title and prove she is a legitimate star.
Furthermore, if WWE let the winner of the Mae Young Classic beat Asuka’s streak, it would give serious legitimacy to the tournament and would likely mean it would draw a lot more interest if they decide to do a second.
Also, as Sane is still undefeated in WWE it would allow WWE if they were so inclined to have Sane go on a streak of her own. Then have the pair face off in a streak vs streak match.
#3 A cash in
Much like Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank was a SmackDown PPV this year. And once again, Raw will receive it next June. This means that WWE will have from now until June to let Asuka run rampant over the Raw Women’s division. She could beat everyone multiple times and look unstoppable.
But once someone from Raw wins the Women’s Money in the Bank match next June, it would be a great way for Asuka to take her first pinfall loss.
The story would be pretty easy to tell. Asuka could have just finished a match, maybe vs Jax or Banks, where she only just won by the skin of her teeth. Then, someone like Alexa Bliss could come in, attack her with a chair, then cash in and pin Asuka.
This would keep Asuka still looking strong as her first loss would be after a gruelling match with Nia, a chair attack and then several finishers from Bliss.
#4 At WrestleMania vs Bayley
Losing at WrestleMania vs Bayley doesn’t cover Asuka in too much glory. But it does do several things. Firstly, a great story can be told. It was Asuka who came to NXT and beat Bayley for the NXT women’s title. Bayley could use this for motivation.
Secondly, it would revitalise Bayley — who has been booked very poorly since her call-up to Monday Night Raw.
In NXT, Bayley was the ultimate fan favourite and the best underdog. She got so close to the title so often and her road to the title was excellent. She finally won the big one vs Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in one of the best women’s matches in WWE. This made Bayley a huge start and she and Finn Balor were the two pillars of NXT for some time.
However, WWE have treated Bayley like somewhat of a joke during her time on Raw. She lost to Alexa Bliss because, essentially, she was scared of a kendo stick. And who can forget that horrible ‘this is your life’ segment where Bayley was accused of having her dad go to school with her, never kissing a boy, and having her friend stop hanging out with her because she watched wrestling... way to make your own product seem cool, WWE.
Through all this, it is clear WWE need to do something drastic to allow Bayley to be the star she was in NXT. This could mean Bayley having to overcome huge obstacles before eventually getting her match with Asuka at Mania and winning the title from her. This would bring the Bayley-Asuka story full circle. It would also turn Bayley into a huge star.
#5 At the hands of Ronda Rousey
Unless you live under a rock, you probably know by now that the rumour mill is rife with stories about Rousey having a WWE match.
Given that Asuka is still undefeated in WWE, she would be the perfect opponent for Ronda. Yes, WWE could put her against someone like Charlotte or Sasha Banks. But given that these two, as well as every other woman on the roster, lose on a regular basis, them facing Rousey would not feel as significant.
Asuka, however, brings a much more legitimate threat through her in-ring style and the fact that nobody ‘is ready for Asuka'.
If WWE want to get the most out of both Asuka's streak and Rousey's debut, they should do a streak vs debut match at WrestleMania. This would grab huge mainstream attention and would be an excellent watch as Asuka is a very accomplished performer.
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