How, When And By Who Should Asuka's Streak Be Broken?

[Hard Hit Prince]

How, When And By Who Should Asuka's Streak Be Broken?​

As of November, 22, Asuka's current record is of 201 consecutive victories spanning over 3 years without a loss. Be it from DQ, Count-Out or even in multi-tag matches. It's been absolutely amazing to see WWE actually have some form of long-term plan, or at least, a long-term build for an eventual great moment in women's wrestling history.

She vacated her previous NXT Championship and debuted on Monday Night Raw to big fanfare from the WWE fanbase, who's eager to see the japanese wrestler improve the match quality on a weekly basis for the still struggling women's division.

She's been great thus far for the little she has had to do to establish her character for the general audience of WWE, who doesn't watch NXT and never heard of her. The commentators have provided a solid backstory and she's pretty much one of the hottest talents in the company, let alone her respective division or brand.

But good things must come to an end, and there are people already concerned about what the main writers and Vince McMahon will do to a streak that they never personally created. There's also the fact that wrestling in general seemingly struggle to deliver a good payoff to long streaks. Goldberg's loss to Kevin Nash is a perfect example of controversial finishes, but there's also Undertaker's legendary streak at WrestleMania ending in a bad match against a part-timer (or as others will say, to the only believable guy). Both were controversial and in general the dislikes outweight the ones who liked it. In other examples, you also have the fact that The Miz being the first guy to pin John Cena at WrestleMania in a singles match and it not been treated as a big thing. As for the women's division, Charlotte Flair was once undefeated at PPVs but that ended rather abrutly with a lot of disapointment notes being given by fans. (I'm pretty sure they are bummed about that now, as an undefeated Asuka vs. and undefeated Charlotte match, would be big enough to headline SummerSlam in the very least).

--*

I'm a big fan of NXT's storytelling and as an avid consumer of entertainment products, I like how continuity makes a good story, fantastic. So, I would really build that streak until the 2018 SummerSlam and the one who I would really like to see break it is... Ember Moon.

The small seeds of an instant classic have been planted with Ember Moon looking like a fool winning the NXT Women's Championship after Asukaleft. It feels like she wasn't good enough, because Asuka is miles better than the division and her personally. She should be bummed about that and others should dig into her with the "you weren't good enough". Build it, up until she makes her main roster debut on Raw after WrestleMania.

Have a moment with the two facing off. Ember could debut to an Asuka's Women's Championship coronation. Have that "I'm here to take you down" feel and build from it up until SummerSlam. Make her tag partners, against a common foe, let Ember be screwed out of a title shot at the PPV by a fake-injury storyline or by Asuka herself. Create animosity, attacks and have Asuka always avoiding a fight with Ember, and let the two have an instant classic when the time comes at SummerSlam and let the story go full circle. By the end of SummerSlam you would have an instant babyface star who's actually a great worker and a big big villain in Asuka who could help others after they go their best of 3 matches on a PPV.

Thoughts.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

No one should end it! She should retire with a record of (arbitrary round number for no reason)-0. Sting retired, so we won't get the dream match. If anyone, it should be a young person who could use a push, rather than some legend or part-timer.

Sorry, that was just my version of every whining baby discussing Undertaker for the last decade.

Asuka, who cares? She's been on the main roster for 5 minutes. Her streak is less relevant than the other irrelevant ones.

I hope she is handled better than Tatanka!! ...ok I'm done.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Give her the belt, have her go another two years before some young, popular thing comes along that needs a major rub to her career, make it one of the centerpieces to a Summerslam event. Maybe even bring in Rhonda Rousey full time, have her parallel a similar streak before the two must finally meet, the biggest woman's match in history at Wrestlemania.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As of right now, I don't think it should be anybody. I'd keep the streak going for as long as possible and then possibly look to some young, fresh, up & coming talent to end her streak instead of giving it to someone that's already long since been established.

I don't have any particular scenario in mind because, in all honesty, all we do is set ourselves up for failure when we go down that road. We build up some sort of fantasy booking scenario that's so epic that you know it can't possibly take place, then crap all over WWE whenever it doesn't happen so maybe the best thing to do is to just take things slowly and see what happens. After all, Asuka has only been on the main roster for about a month, or a bit longer, so maybe it's best to keep ourselves grounded because Vince could decide to have her beaten at any given time.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Nia Jax should end it at the anniversary show. I’m 100% serious. WWE is intent on pushing Nia as a monster and her knocking off Asuka in front of all the eyeballs will give her momentum. Plus undefeated streaks are among the worst booking decisions in pro wrestling history, so get it over with and move on to giving her an actual storyline.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I agree with Rainbow in this one. They want to push Nia as a monster, then have her take down Asuka. But not at the anniversary show. You have to build up Asuka so that her streak feels relevant on the main roster as well. Ending the streak at the anniversary show is too early.

Keep building up Asuka. Keep building up Nia. And sometime in the next year, have them collide. Nia wins and the Asuka chases Nia as an underdog.

However, I still can't believe undefeated at PPVs Charlotte vs undefeated Asuka got lost and was never given a thought...

 

[#hamler]

My ideal finish to the Asuka streak is a cheap, slimy cash in with the Money in the Bank breifcase. Asuka wins the Women's title and let's say Alexa Bliss wins the MiTB next year. After a long contested match with Paige, for example, Alexa enters and dethrones Asuka. Asuka remains strong and tremendous amounts of heel heat for Alexa Bliss. Really any decent heel would fit in here.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Bayley or Sasha at WrestleMania. That would regain their momentum a little bit.

I don't want it to last any longer than that, because Asuka needs to be established outside of the streak.

 

[stingray11214]

They need to have someone BELIEVABLE to defeat Asuka. Nia Jax is not it. Sure, she is big. Sure, she is intimidating. But, so was Shawn Bradley. And, nobody that knows anything about Basketball would choose Bradley over David Robinson. Asuka is Women's wrestling's "Admiral". If she loses, she will give a massive rub to that person. And, it has to be someone that DESERVES that rub. Rousey? Maybe. Kairi Hojo? Possibly. Ember Moon? They would have done it with her already. Everyone else? It would be so unbelievable that it would rank around Goldberg losing HIS streak. In the end, you need someone who WWE is going to make THE woman on the roster once Asuka retires. Anything else, and the streak becomes meaningless.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

They need to have someone BELIEVABLE to defeat Asuka. Nia Jax is not it. Sure, she is big. Sure, she is intimidating. But, so was Shawn Bradley. And, nobody that knows anything about Basketball would choose Bradley over David Robinson. Asuka is Women's wrestling's "Admiral". If she loses, she will give a massive rub to that person. And, it has to be someone that DESERVES that rub. Rousey? Maybe. Kairi Hojo? Possibly. Ember Moon? They would have done it with her already. Everyone else? It would be so unbelievable that it would rank around Goldberg losing HIS streak. In the end, you need someone who WWE is going to make THE woman on the roster once Asuka retires. Anything else, and the streak becomes meaningless.

I agree with you entirely, even though I think that Nia Jax could be someone WWE could push as a top woman. Maybe not THE top woman, but a top woman. However, in there somewhere, you mention something about Asuka retring. Are you suggesting that Asuka should go undefeated he entire career, with only losing one match? That match before retirement?

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

You know. Actually, keeping Asuka undefeated for years would be so cool to see. 2 or 3 years. It would give modern fans a taste of 70s wrestling. You could move her to Smackdown and just revolve the entire division around her. I know it would get tiresome really fast with the modern schedule of monthly PPVs and weekly shows, but it could work if you do something similar as they did with CM Punk. Turn her heel down the line.

Nobody wanted Punk to drop the belt to The Rock after 434 days. Nobody was tired of him. I believe Punk could have lasted all the way until Summerslam 2013 as a champion. Fans still wouldn't be tired. That's 200+ more days. 634+ in total. That's around 2 years. Asuka could do the same. Start as a face, turn heel and then maybe turn face again at the last months of her reign, before finally losing to a big opponent in a big match.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

You know. Actually, keeping Asuka undefeated for years would be so cool to see. 2 or 3 years. It would give modern fans a taste of 70s wrestling. You could move her to Smackdown and just revolve the entire division around her. I know it would get tiresome really fast with the modern schedule of monthly PPVs and weekly shows, but it could work if you do something similar as they did with CM Punk. Turn her heel down the line.

Nobody wanted Punk to drop the belt to The Rock after 434 days. Nobody was tired of him. I believe Punk could have lasted all the way until Summerslam 2013 as a champion. Fans still wouldn't be tired. That's 200+ more days. 634+ in total. That's around 2 years. Asuka could do the same. Start as a face, turn heel and then maybe turn face again at the last months of her reign, before finally losing to a big opponent in a big match.

People not wanting Punk to drop the title had nothing to do with how popular and unready fans were for him to drop it. People didn’t want him to drop it to Rock because it was predictable and no one wanted Rock/Cena 2 to be for the title. A lot of people were very bored with the title run. It was so lackluster that Big Show and John Lauranitis we’re getting the main events instead of Punk. Plenty of people were tired of it, they just didn’t want the predictable BS ending we got.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

The predominant issue is that the women's division is what, between the two shows, twenty deep? At a push. Unlike NXT where the lack of female talent depth was relatively well hidden courtesy of the show's taping structure and time constraints, Asuka's going to be on RAW every week and she's going to run out of opponents fairly quick. By Mania, she's likely going to have faced the bulk of the roster. You could theoretically move her to SmackDown at that point, but I suspect she's already likely to be the Women's Champion either leading into or at Mania. At which point really it needs to go to someone in need of elevating.

Whether that's an Ember Moon debuting and immediately attempting to right the one wrong she has from her NXT career or Nia Jax finally getting that monster push that's been talked about for so long, or a heel turn for any of the horsewomen, it should be used to help get someone or something over. It shouldn't just arbitrarily end on a whim like Charlotte's PPV streak or Bayley's push or Nia's dominance more or less anytime she gains momentum.

It should be used to develop the opponent as well as Asuka herself. How does she react? How does she cope without that aura around her? Can she come back from it? At the end of the day, my faith for this sort of sustained storytelling is at a fairly low point when it comes to WWE, but who knows, with Vince apparent booking by crowd volume these days and Triple H obviously a massive fan, maybe they'll have a story for it when the time comes...sooner rather than later.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Charlotte is the only female they're fully committed to, yet she doesn't need the victory. The ideal candidate probably isn't even in the WWE system yet.

But really it doesn't matter. I'm already feeling main roster fatigue with her.

 

[stingray11214]

I agree with you entirely, even though I think that Nia Jax could be someone WWE could push as a top woman. Maybe not THE top woman, but a top woman. However, in there somewhere, you mention something about Asuka retring. Are you suggesting that Asuka should go undefeated he entire career, with only losing one match? That match before retirement?

Asuka/Kana is so far ahead of the whole Women's roster that she could believably go undefeated. She is also 36. Joshi wrestlers last long because they have very light schedules. Yes, many retire young due to injury, marriage, and the other opportunities Joshi Puroresu offers. Now, add a WWE schedule. Yikes! If Manami Toyota, KAORU, or Lioness Asuka had to do a WWE schedule, Toyota would have retired years ago, KAORU would be under the concussion protocol, amongst other things, and Lioness Asuka would be another Hayabusa. Joshi Puroresu is not the Divas Division by any stretch of the imagination.

So, would it be OK for Asuka/Kana to go undefeated through her whole career? Sure. Why not? The 300 day schedule will be murder, and it will reduce her effective years. So, I do imagine that she will be gone in a few years. If Rousey is serious about WWE, she MIGHT be the one. The other could be Kairi Hojo/Sane (although I do hold out hope for DASH Chisako coming to WWE). So, it will be a while. However, I can see Asuka ending her WWE career with one loss, and rubbing THE Woman.

 

[1truefan]

I like the idea of Asuka and Nia. But they First need to build Nia back up first . Her booking has been very spotty with her appearances on RAW being inconsistent at best. Let her go the next month or so destroying the roster. Then have asuka give a promo saying “No one is ready for Asuka”. Only to have Jax attack setting up the match. I wouldn’t do it at the anniversary show. The show promises to be stacked with some iconic moments and I this deserves a main event or PPV. Not some throw away match in the middle of the card.

 

[roipdh123]

I think Asuka's streak is something that needs to end in a shock...just like Taker's streak was ended when least expected to be ended.
If it was me I would have Asuka win the title at WrestleMania going on to hold the belt all the way into next year's royal rumble. By this point Asuka would have feuded with everyone - Sasha, Alexa, Nia and Paige.
Basically what I see happening is having Asuka defend the title on the show before the women rumble match (that needs to happen) against Bayley, with everyone expecting Asuka to retain. Then when the referee is down after a bump, have Bayley hit Asuka with a chair, followed by a Bayley to Belly on it, pinning Asuka which legs on the ropes to become new champ.

Imagine the reaction...

 

[Wildcat66]

Who I think should break Asuka's streak?: None other than the person she beat to win the NXT women's title in the first place, Bayley. It only makes sense seeing as Bayley was the first person to really challenge Asuka and all but cemented her as the female equivalent to Goldberg.

When will this happen?: I won't give out a proper date, but the time frame would be around WrestleMania to SummerSlam.

How will it happen?: It really depends on what story they want to tell, if they want to deliver an all out classic; then Asuka has to lose clean or it won't work. If they're going to feud beyond their first match and one of them simply has to turn heel; then it has either be because of BS reasoning or the opponent simply snapping and beating the living hell out of her.

What will the reaction be when it happens?: Insane, almost akin to the Undertaker losing his streak at WrestleMania.

 

[Dagger Dias]

People tend to start fantasy booking the scenarios they want to see play out in their minds and more often than not what they envision ends up not being how the WWE goes about it (or WCW if we're including examples like Goldberg). For anyone who is coming up with their own scenarios of how they genuinely WANT Asuka's undefeated streak to end.... Here is some advice for you. Be open to the fact that it probably won't happen the way you want it to. That will save you some frustration later down the road.

Ok, so I'll play along and come up with one. Granted, I know it probably won't happen so I am not getting my hopes up. So what I would most want to see happen is the main roster commentators acknowledging the undefeated streak she had in NXT continuing into her main roster run. Bring it up all the time such as they did with Charlotte's PPV streak. Hype it up. Then promote Ember Moon to the main roster after the Wrestlemania weekend Takeover event where she loses her NXT Championship to Peyton Royce. Ember shows up on the first Raw after Wrestlemania. Keep her and Asuka separate but hype them both up. Ember challenges Asuka to a title match at Summerslam, as Asuka would be Raw (or Smackdown) Women's Champion by then. Ember wants to avenge her loss at Takeover Brooklyn. The history between them would be even more well known by this point even to those who did not watch their NXT feud. Ember wins at Summerslam, but Asuka remains dominant even after the loss. That's my ideal scenario. Will it happen? Highly unlikely. It would be a fun storyline that adds more layers to an already good feud they had in NXT.

It's much more likely that they just do something that most people wind up being against. Like having her be the one Carmella cashes in on, or have her lose to someone who sucks like Nia. I doubt it goes the way any of us are wanting it to. Watch Asuka's undefeated streak join the likes of Goldberg's from WCW, Taker's at Wrestlemania, and Charlotte's PPV streak on the list of stupid endings to undefeated streaks. Just being realistic here. The Raw creative team aren't the best with their storyline ideas and they also have Vince forcing more idiocy into the ideas already in place.

So, again, don't get your hopes up for something epic since it may not happen.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I feel like right now her first lost should be at a big event like a wrestlemania or summerslam. I feel it should be from somebody on the current roster and she should be the champion when she finally lost. Also, it as to be next year because if you wait to long, fans will turn on her and the streak will be meaningless.

So how would have do it. Have her beat whoever is the raw champion at mania, then have keep the title from mania all the way to summerslam and then let say have a NXT call up like maybe Ember Moon who as so much history with her finally bet her for the raw championship at summerslam. I fell you can tell such a great story about how Ember came so close to beat her in NXT, How when she won the NXT women's title, Asuka gave her the belt and Now Ember as come to Raw to finally prove she could beat Asuka on the big stage.

Another idea would be to have the iconic duo get called up and either peyton or Billie beats her with outside intereference. That way, the streak is over but you still protect somewhat asuka. Not my favorite scenario but i wanted to bring it her anyway.

 

[ztwhite]

I know they're on different brands, but who says Carmella has to cash in MITB on the SmackDown women's champ?

When Asuka wins the Raw women's title, have the Princess of Staten Island garner some real heat (although most people will pop).

That being said, I could see Alexa Bliss and Asuka meeting at WrestleMania for the title, so that means Carmella would have to cash in at Mania, which I find highly unlikely.

I see the scenario playing out better on the Raw after Mania, just not sure how to script it yet.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Ronda Rousey.

I'm someone that doesn't care about putting over a younger guy/girl via ending an undefeated streak, beating them in their last match etc. I mean yeah sure it's nice but I don't obsess and lose my shit over it if it doesn't happen that way like most other wrestling fans do. I never had a problem with Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's streak for the same reason I wouldn't mind Rousey ending Asuka's streak, because it would end at the hands of someone legit and credible. When it comes to someone younger ending it, there's always the risk that the younger guy won't live up to the hype and will end up failing.

 

[ShinChan]

I think that a great underdog should get to break Asuka's streak. Someone like Bayley but she's already badly affected, thanks to some ridiculous booking.

Ember Moon breaking it on main roster could be good but that's not coming anytime soon. I also see a lot of potential in Dakota Kai as a great underdog like Daniel Bryan was.

However, no Charlotte or Ronda please.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I kinda feel that if they are going to break asuka's streak, it probably is going to be at the end of Paige and her group via outside interference and i feel that if you do it right, this might just work to both women's advantage but seeing how WWE does booked things, i feel that it's a lose lose situation for both parties especially since they pretty much the 2 best thing going on Raw right now.

 

[kadroan]

Against Charlotte makes the most sense business wise. If it was up to me, Nia Jax would get it. She's like the female Bray right now. A win over Asuka would get folks to take her serious.