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The first-ever women’s WWE Royal Rumble is just around the corner and reports suggest that there are two main contenders who could win the match: Asuka, the undefeated former NXT Women’s champion; and Ronda Rousey, the MMA star who seems destined to join WWE.
In the case of Asuka, she is yet to be pinned or made to submit since debuting in NXT in October 2015 and she has racked up 13 consecutive television victories since joining WWE’s main roster three months ago.
So, will she continue her path of destruction at the Royal Rumble and outlast 29 other women to book her place in a featured title match at WrestleMania 34? Or will the invincible aura that surrounds “The Empress of Tomorrow” be tarnished somewhat in Philadelphia?
In this article, we take a look at five ways that the Japanese sensation could be eliminated from the historic match.
#5 Absolution eliminates her
Asuka only joined WWE’s main roster in October 2017 but she’s already been involved in a storyline with just about every woman on Raw in her first three months.
She has defeated Emma, Dana Brooke, Team SmackDown Live, Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Absolution and Carmella in that time, while seeds were planted for a potential Rumble face-off with Bayley, Sasha Banks and Mickie James when she threw all three over the top rope at Raw 25.
If WWE wants to protect the aura of Asuka’s undefeated streak, which seemingly only applies to pinfall and submission matches (she lost a battle royal in NXT), then they could do worse than have multiple women eliminate her from the Rumble.
If supposed babyfaces Bayley, Sasha and Mickie were to do it, that would probably result in thunderous boos from the Philadelphia crowd, so how about Absolution instead?
#4 Ronda Rousey eliminates her
Ronda Rousey said on Thursday that she was flying out to Colombia to film a movie and she won’t be back in the United States until mid-February, essentially ruling herself out of the Royal Rumble.
Still, she remains the favourite to win the match, just ahead of Asuka, and we all expect the MMA star to appear in Philadelphia on Sunday.
As we outlined when considering the top 10 most likely finishes to the women’s Rumble, it sounds simple but it wouldn’t be surprising if Ronda enters late on and throws Asuka over the top rope to win the match.
#3 Alexa Bliss eliminates her
Of course, Alexa Bliss won’t be involved in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match for the obvious reason that she is already Raw Women’s champion.
However, Asuka defeated “Little Miss Bliss” in a non-title match on Raw earlier in January and she will surely be in line for a title opportunity in the near future, whether she wins the Rumble or not.
Perhaps that rivalry could resume during the Rumble match itself, with Alexa interfering to throw Asuka over the top rope with a sneak elimination when she least expects it.
#2 Nia Jax eliminates her
Standing at 6ft tall and weighing 240lbs, Nia Jax will be the largest and most powerful woman involved in the Royal Rumble. As such, just like we saw at WrestleMania 33, we can expect entrants to join forces to try to eliminate her from the match.
Equally, Nia is almost certain to throw multiple Superstars out of the match and there’s every chance that she, perhaps with help from best friend Alexa Bliss, will target current Raw rival Asuka.
Nia attacked “The Empress of Tomorrow” before a match on Raw earlier in January and, whether it’s Nia who eliminates Asuka or Asuka who eliminates Nia, the two are surely bound to cross paths again at the Rumble.
#1 She gets attacked before entering the match
It goes unmentioned by WWE's commentators that Asuka technically wasn’t undefeated in NXT, as she was eliminated by Eva Marie during a battle royal in January 2016.
You’d be forgiven for forgetting, or even not knowing, that it happened, but nobody would forget if the former NXT Women's champion were to be eliminated from the first-ever women’s Rumble, and it could significantly harm her ‘undefeated’ character if she is eliminated too easily.
To prevent that from happening, perhaps she’ll be attacked on her way to the ring, just like how Nia Jax blind-sided her on Raw, and won't take part in the match at all.
Of course, this would be the most underwhelming choice of the lot, but we’ve seen it happen before (Axelmania!) and we can’t put it past WWE to pull the same trick again.
