4 compelling reasons why Paige should face Asuka at WrestleMania 34

The women's divisions on both RAW and SmackDown got a major shot in the arm last week as we saw five unexpected NXT call-ups and most prominently of all, the triumphant return of Paige. Making a huge splash, Paige and her rookie allies, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, flattened most of RAW's women's division, including its champion, Alexa Bliss.

Notably absent from the beatdown was Asuka, the sole survivor for RAW's women's team at Survivor Series the night before.

Thus, the seeds of a potential mega match for WWE's women's division were sown. Speculation ramped up further when the two exchanged shots across the bow on Twitter yesterday.

.@RealPaigeWWE you brought back up, why? You aren’t ready for Asuka either? ?

— ASUKA / ??? (@WWEAsuka) November 27, 2017

Stop..you're not that special. ? https://t.co/Dt6uaRtaRw

— PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) November 27, 2017

If WWE is serious about a "women's revolution" being something beyond a talking point, the company must set up this match. Paige should capture the RAW Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss sometime soon, with Asuka emerging as the #1 contender somewhere on the Road to WrestleMania.

There are many reasons why this should be the marquee women's feud heading into the biggest show of the year, both for the quality of the card and for the progress of women's wrestling as a whole.

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#1 It would avoid the meaningless cluster

This is all too often the norm and it's uninspiring

Both women's divisions have long been plagued with meaningless multi-women programs, where everyone feels like an interchangeable cog on the wheel of 50/50 booking. This year has stood out in particular for this lazy booking, but you need to look no further than WrestleMania itself for a notable example of a long-running trend.

There has been no women's singles match at a WrestleMania since 2007 when Ashley faced Melina, and even that one only lasted about 3.5 minutes. As a result, no one has been made to feel big on WWE's biggest stage for 10 years.

While things were headed in the right direction with the highly praised triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch at last year's big show, this year's edition regressed back into meaningless clusters with a fatal 4-way for the RAW Women's Championship and a truly terrible 6-pack challenge for its SmackDown counterpart. No one really mattered in either match. That's been the rule for far too long.

In contrast, a match between Paige and Asuka would stand out instantly, even more so because of the backstory going into it.

#2 It would be an epic tale

The returning rebel should prepare for war against The Empress

Paige made a huge impact when she returned to RAW last week, and it may be bigger still with the indications that she may have been behind both that and the invasion seen on SmackDown. Regardless of that, as the mistress of a new group of outlaws (however big), Paige instantly feels important, a distinction in the women's division that only Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and Charlotte had before that.

A clash between two stars that feels important is the mortar upon which a mega match is built, and the women's division hasn't had that at WrestleMania for a long time.

Paige, the leader of a gang running roughshod over the RAW women's division, being challenged by perhaps its last hope, the undefeated but mysterious Asuka, sounds like what a WrestleMania feud is made of, but the story runs deeper than that.

Asuka and Paige are the longest and second longest reigning NXT Women's Champions, respectively. Neither of them were ever defeated for that title. Paige was instrumental in getting the ball rolling on the ballyhooed "women's revolution," while Asuka has famously stated that "there is no women's revolution, there is only Asuka."

The added dimension of who has meant more for women's wrestling in WWE could, if done properly, creates a more ambiguous alignment between the two, which would add a welcome sense of realism to the feud. In that scenario, Paige isn't entirely the evil villain while Asuka looks to be far from the saviour of the RAW women's division, but instead could just as easily be a replacement tyrant (which would be smart long-term booking).

Finally, there's Paige's lackeys, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. These two would be a suspense-building element. Asuka will be the heavy favourite against anyone individually, but their presence would introduce an element of doubt to the feud and match, putting her streak in more believable jeopardy.

I can easily imagine 70,000 people holding their breath in New Orleans more than once with those two lurking at ringside. They would set up far longer odds for Asuka to overcome, which is exactly what should be aimed at.

Any match involving Alexa Bliss would pale in comparison.

#3 It would be a breath of fresh air

It's time for Little Miss Bliss to put the belt down

Alexa Bliss has only been on the main roster for little over a year now, but it feels like it's been much longer, as she has taken the spotlight for so long. She's held a championship for over 50% of that time, and unfortunately, she's been a big hindrance to the division as a whole.

While she's the best talker among the women, her promos are largely repetitive (juvenile type insults), and her ring work leaves much to be desired.

She has not yet had a standout match. Worse still, most of her opponents have come out of feuds with her looking the worse for wear. Becky Lynch was humiliated, Bayley was all but destroyed as a credible babyface, Sasha Banks looked like a choke artist who couldn't defend her title, Nia Jax lost all her momentum when she inexplicably found herself back in Alexa's orbit after attacking her only a month prior, and Mickie James looked like an over the hill hag.

With all of this, it shouldn't be surprising that no other woman has felt important on RAW since WrestleMania. Until Asuka debuted, it was basically "the Alexa Bliss and geeks show." She's been derisively called "Alesnar" by many for this reason.

Paige's return breathed new life into the division and gave it the most excitement it's had all year. To make the most of this, Paige should capture the RAW Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss at the Royal Rumble at latest.

Meanwhile, Asuka should begin to slowly and steadily continue her rise to the #1 contendership, whether she wins it through a women's Royal Rumble or some other way.

It's time for Alexa Bliss to leave the title picture for a while. Her reign was beyond stale and her reactions diminishing long before this, but Paige's return really exposed it.

WWE must buck its trends and take advantage of this buzz.

#4 It would help to give birth to new stars

A villain always needs accomplices

WWE is clearly high on Mandy Rose (and hopefully that's not just because she's easy on the eye). Sonya Deville, also, has a lot of raw potential. Though they would be secondary players in this particular drama, being involved in a prominent WrestleMania program would certainly help to elevate the two of them, getting them exposure and experience at WWE's highest level.

Eventually, when Paige's stable breaks up, they'll be in a better position as they go their own separate ways.

With this element also added, Paige vs. Asuka at WrestleMania is smart booking both for this upcoming season and the long-term future of WWE's women's division.

Here's hoping that it happens.