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After six weeks of vignettes and video packages, the wait is almost over and we’re finally set to see Asuka on a WWE pay-per-view for the first time.
“The Empress of Tomorrow” has destroyed everyone in her path over the last two years -- from Bayley to Nia Jax, from Mickie James to Ember Moon -- and arrives on the main roster having relinquished her NXT Women’s Championship after a record reign of 523 days.
You’d be forgiven for wanting to avoid a battle against the undefeated Asuka, but it was quite the opposite on Raw earlier this month when Emma won a five-way elimination match to earn the opportunity to go one-on-one with the Japanese Superstar at TLC.
So, will it be an easy victory for Asuka? Will anybody else get involved? Could we see the end of the two-year undefeated streak? In this article, we look at five possible finishes to the match.
#1 Asuka wins with the Asuka Lock
First up, let’s go with the most likely finish to the match. Asuka has defeated Dana Brooke, Bayley, Mickie James and Ember Moon via the Asuka Lock submission at NXT TakeOver events and we will almost certainly see it used again on Sunday.
In fact, she almost beat her TLC opponent Emma with the move at TakeOver: London in December 2015. The Aussie was tapping out in the middle of the ring but the referee was distracted by Dana. Asuka improvised and got the win with a Spin Kick.
In all likelihood, with Emma having no sidekick at ringside nowadays, Asuka will get the win in impressive style via submission before moving on to bigger and better challengers.
#2 Asuka wins with a Spin Kick
Out of Asuka’s 10 matches at NXT TakeOver events, three of her victories came via the Spin Kick. The first of those, as previously mentioned, came against Emma at TakeOver: London, and there’s every chance we’ll see it again at TLC.
The holder of the longest undefeated streak in WWE history even tweeted a video this week, which can be seen below, of her executing the move on Emma during their time in NXT.
A sign of things to come, perhaps?
#3 Asuka wins in Goldberg fashion
If you look into the stats of Asuka vs. Emma, this should be the most obvious squash match in PPV history. Asuka hasn’t been defeated in two years and is the longest reigning champion in NXT history, while Emma regularly loses on Raw and has never had a one-on-one match on PPV in her entire WWE career.
The only comparable Superstar to Asuka in WWE history is Goldberg, who made his name by dismantling opponents week after week on his way to racking up an inflated storyline winning streak of 173 victories and zero defeats.
“The Empress of Tomorrow” has already surpassed that tally and the majority of her matches are a lot more competitive than Goldberg’s, but don’t be surprised if we see a short, destructive victory on Sunday.
#4 Asuka wins via disqualification
As previously mentioned, Emma loses a lot of matches. In her time on WWE’s main roster in 2017, when she wasn’t injured or being advertised as “Emmalina”, the Aussie has racked up losses to Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Mickie James and Alexa Bliss.
Out of those six women, only Mickie and Alexa - both in the Raw Women’s Championship match - are on the main card. Perhaps a storyline could develop where another member of the roster aligns with Emma and attacks Asuka during her debut, leading to another match at the next PPV.
If that does happen, it’s unlikely to be Nia, who has reportedly been granted a leave of absence due to personal reasons, which leaves Asuka’s first rival in NXT, Dana, as the most likely candidate to get involved.
#5 Asuka loses!
Asuka losing her first match would possibly be the worst storyline development in the history of television. Not just the history of WWE television, but television full stop!
The former NXT champion has defeated everybody on her way to the main roster and it’s simply unthinkable that she can lose to Emma. But if there’s one company that likes to make us think one thing and produce something else, it’s WWE.
Look at The Undertaker losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX, or Goldberg defeating Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds at Survivor Series, or even earlier this year when Tommaso Ciampa turned on Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver: Chicago.
The only possible way Asuka can lose is if Sasha Banks and Bayley interfere to help Emma win and, in doing so, become the two most despised female Superstars on the roster. It’s unlikely to happen, but just imagine…
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