5 matches where Asuka was pushed to her limits

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Before we saw Asuka and Sasha Banks slug it out over the RAW Women's Championship at Extreme Rules, we have been treated to many great moments from Empress of Tomorrow. Right from her fierce NXT debut, where she reigned as champion for a record 510 days, defending her title against many strong competitors to becoming a mainstay of RAW and SmackDown, Asuka has proven herself time and time again to be one of the best female Superstars in WWE. She has taken part in many historic events such as the first women's Royal Rumble match, and the first women's TLC match at the namesake pay-per-view in 2018.

More recently, Asuka has emerged as a huge star, keeping us all entertained with not only her ring work but her comedy moments with Kairi Sane. Not to mention, her dance moves around the ring and her YouTube channel, as well as her appearances on UpUpDownDown.

Asuka made a valiant effort in her title defense against Sasha Banks at Extreme Rules, countering fierce attacks from Sasha, and still proving herself to be strong, despite the strange finish. Asuka is no stranger to getting pushed to the limits - and not just in the sense of stipulation matches. Asuka has shown herself to go to the extremes as a wrestler, an entertainer and a force to be reckoned with in the WWE women's division. Here are just a select few matches where she has done just that:

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#5 Asuka vs. Nikki Cross: Last Woman Standing match (2017)

The match between Asuka and Nikki Cross for the NXT Women's Championship was a massive moment for women in the WWE. It was the first-ever Last Woman Standing match, preceding Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch facing off at Evolution for the SmackDown Women's Championship.

At the time of Asuka and Nikki's NXT clash, Asuka was deep into her undefeated streak, and Nikki was making waves as the standout member of now-defunct SAnitY. The women did not waste any time in their intense battle, exchanging blows and using weapons pretty much as soon as the bell sounded. Nikki's crazy persona shone in this match, bouncing champion Asuka against the steel steps, to which she responded by dropkicking Nikki, who was trapped in a bin.

The women went back and forth as equals and created memorable moments together, such as Nikki viciously power bombing Asuka onto a pile of steel chairs in the middle of the ring, with her beating the count at 5. The bout continued with Asuka scaling the ladders that had been set up by the announce table, and diving off with Nikki in tow. Asuka narrowly beat the count, emerging at 9 to remain the NXT Women's Champion.

#4 First-ever Women's Royal Rumble (2018)

Asuka won the inaugural Women's Royal Rumble match

2018 was a massive year for the women of WWE, kicking off with the women finally getting their very own Royal Rumble match. A pivotal moment of the women's revolution, 30 WWE women's Superstars took part in this historic main event. The Royal Rumble started with the entrance of half of the Four Horsewomen, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. This event also saw the return of many female WWE legends, including Lita, Trish Stratus, Molly Holly, and Jacqueline.

As the women battled on, we were treated to so many iconic moments, including Lita hitting both Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks with her signature Moonsault, as well as Naomi managing to avoid elimination by jumping on the barricade and using an announcer's chair to work her way back into the ring. A record was also set by returning Michelle McCool, who eliminated a total of five women (Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Molly Holly, Lana, and Vickie Guerrero), which was beaten in 2020 by Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler.

Asuka entered at number 25, a favorable spot. She jumped straight into the action, facing off against her NXT rival Ember Moon, who hit Asuka with a show-stopping one-armed eclipse. However, Asuka got one back quickly by eliminating her. Asuka then teamed up with her fellow competitors to throw Nia Jax over the top rope, and by the time the match boiled down to the final three, it was Asuka against the returning Bella twins.

Asuka fought hard to avoid elimination at the hands of Brie and Nikki Bella, and mockingly used Yes kicks against them both. In a shock move, Nikki then eliminated her sister, leaving Asuka and her as the final two contenders in the first-ever match of its kind. After a short face-off between the pair, Asuka was able to kick Nikki off the ring apron and onto the floor, to earn her place in history as the first-ever winner of the Women's Royal Rumble.

After Asuka's victory, there was one more surprise in store. At the time, rumors had been rife that Ronda Rousey was now a member of the WWE roster. When Asuka confronted champions Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, the opening riff to Joan Jett's Bad Reputation played, and out stepped Ronda herself to make her intentions known, squaring up to all three women and pointing to the WrestleMania sign.

#3 Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair, WrestleMania 34 (2018)

After emerging victorious in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble, Asuka had to decide who she would want to face at WrestleMania -- RAW Women's Champion, Alexa Bliss or SmackDown Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair. Asuka made up her mind and chose to battle reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, Charlotte Flair, to a singles match at WrestleMania that year.

With fan-favorite John Cena watching on from the front row, the two female Superstars made their entrances, with Charlotte's homage to Triple H (an entrance that Charlotte had been a part of alongside Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss a few years earlier) wowing both the crowd and viewers at home. Both competitors had a lot at stake – Charlotte was the reigning champion after defeating Natalya the previous year and retaining her title in numerous defenses, while Asuka was 914 days deep into her undefeated streak, which is WWE record.

Charlotte was quick to taunt Asuka mere minutes after the bell rang, with her father's old trick of stylin' and profilin', before launching into a moonsault from the top rope. Amazingly, Asuka managed to counter into a triangle choke, which was then countered by Charlotte into a Boston crab. The pair were well-matched and the bout between the two burned on, with Asuka sacrificing herself to hit Charlotte with a suplex off the ring apron, before they both re-entered the ring where Charlotte hit Asuka with a Spanish fly – another move which Asuka surprisingly kicked out of, infuriating The Queen.

Yet again, Asuka was able to counter another of Charlotte's most deadly moves, this time the Natural Selection. Not long after, Charlotte was able to lock in a figure-eight leg lock- with one arm, no less – causing Asuka to shockingly end her streak.

Although Asuka didn't emerge as the winner this time, the pair had brilliant chemistry in the ring. It was an entertaining back-and-forth between two stars and fans have declared it one of the stand-out matches on the WrestleMania card that night. Since then, Charlotte and Asuka have competed against one another numerous times, and have always managed to give the fans excellent matches full of memorable spots.

#2 Money in the Bank Ladder Match (2020)

Asuka becomes Miss Money in the Bank 2020

WWE's pandemic era has been a strange time, with shows going from packed-out arenas to an empty Performance Center. During this time, we have been missing performers for differing reasons, and the circumstances have brought some wrestlers to a prominent position. One of those has been Asuka, who some have been hailing as the star of WWE of late, which has been proven in her performance in the most recent Money in the Bank match.

WWE showed their creativity with this match, having both the men's and women's matches take place at the same time, with both the competing men and women battling it out from the ground floor to the roof of WWE Headquarters. Asuka was a standout from her entrance, appearing on a balcony to leap onto her rivals and run into a lift, where she stayed in, dancing while chaos ensued around her.

After fighting her way to the roof and creating more havoc, including causing poor Dana Brooke to slip on a freshly mopped floor. Asuka had a short scrap in the ring with Nia Jax and Lacey Evans, including a brief yet intense battle on top of the ladder against Lacey. After throwing off Lacey, Asuka was then faced with King Corbin, who challenged her while they were both precariously balanced atop the ladder – which was also on the roof of a huge building, no less. Asuka managed to quickly defend herself and snatch the women's contract…or so we all thought.

On the following edition of RAW, Becky Lynch relinquished the title as she announced her pregnancy, revealing that the prize for winning the match was her RAW Women's Championship.

#1 Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch, TLC (2018)

The rivals battle it out with weapons

Making her way to the ring, it was clear that Asuka had the crowd eating out the palm of her hand in the first-ever women's Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. At the time, Charlotte was fresh from attacking Ronda Rousey with steel chairs and a kendo stick at Survivor Series, and this was Becky's grand return after her iconic broken face moment at the hands of Nia Jax.

This match was action-packed from the second the bell rang, with Charlotte and Becky targeting one another, before Asuka took charge and power bombed Charlotte through a table. Weapons were a large part of the match from the get-go, with Becky unleashing a steel chair on both Charlotte and Asuka, striking them both with it back and forth. It then heated up even more when Becky lined up a ladder on the outside of the ring, scaling it and putting her own body on the line to smash her rivals through an announce table.

The dispute between the three women came to a head; Charlotte attacked Becky and Asuka as they climbed the ladder that had been set up in the centre of the ring, forcing them both to fall to the ground. As the match was coming to a close, both Charlotte and Becky were exchanging blows at the top of the ladder when there was a shock interruption. The RAW Women's Champion, Ronda Rousey, furiously marched her way down to the ring, toppling the ladder that Charlotte and Becky were fighting on, enabling Asuka to take advantage of being the only woman left in the ring and quickly reached for the title, becoming the new SmackDown Women's Champion.