Asuka has been on a continuous warpath since she arrived in NXT almost two years ago and she is still yet to be defeated in the company.
The former Kana arrived in WWE with a big reputation and she has certainly lived up to expectations since her arrival, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter even went as far as to describe her as “the best worker in WWE, man or woman”.
But as of right now, what is next for Asuka?
Just last week, the current NXT Women’s Champion sent out a tweet suggesting that she will not be returning to NXT until they find a worthy opponent for her. While this is clearly a work, she does have a point, what is there left for her to do on WWE’s developmental brand?
An argument could definitely be made that it’s time for her to leave NXT and challenge herself on either Raw or Smackdown Live, and I am here to make that argument.
Here are 6 reasons why now is the right time to call Asuka up to WWE’s main roster…
#1 She’s already beat everyone in NXT
Asuka’s aforementioned tweet last week stated that she feels nobody in NXT is worthy of challenging, and to be honest, she has defeated everyone.
Since her debut in 2015, ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ has overcome every challenge put in front of her. In her first year in the company, Asuka defeated Emma, Dana Brooke, Nia Jax and Bayley, all of whom are plying their trade on Monday Night Raw now.
Meanwhile, Asuka has remained in NXT and continued to dominate over the new crop of talent on the brand having beat Nikki Cross, Ember Moon, Ruby Riot and The Iconic Duo, Billie Kay & Peyton Royce, in recent months. She also holds a victory over one of WWE’s modern greats in Mickie James, whom she defeated at NXT Takeover: Toronto in November of last year.
Therefore, you can’t argue with Asuka’s claim that she has no more worthy challengers in NXT, perhaps she needs to come to WWE’s main roster to find some competition.
#2 She has nothing left to accomplish in NXT
It’s been well publicised in recent weeks that Asuka has been breaking records left, right and centre with her coinciding Championship reign and undefeated streak.
Asuka recently surpassed Goldberg’s historic 173-match undefeated streak, as well as CM Punk’s WWE Championship reign of 434 days. She is comfortably the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion having already dwarfed Paige’s 308-day reign and by the time NXT’s next special event comes around (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III on August 19th), she will have eclipsed both The New Day’s 483-day Tag Team title reign and become the longest reigning Women’s Champion of the post-Moolah era.
So besides staying in NXT for years and years to break Fabulous Moolah’s record, what is there left for Asuka to achieve in NXT?
She is now 35 years old and I would much prefer to see WWE capitalise on what a special talent they have in Asuka and introduce her to a wider audience sooner rather than later.
#3 NXT Women’s division looks strong right now
As I previously mentioned, Asuka has beaten everyone in NXT’s current Women’s division, but she hasn’t buried any of them and the division is looking strong right now.
Nikki Cross has been a breath of fresh air since her debut with SaniTY, while the likes of Ruby Riot, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce have left an impression on the division in a relatively short time. Then there’s Ember Moon who seems to have the potential to be the next female breakout star, but just needs a big win to do so.
With this sort of depth in NXT’s current Women’s division, it seems like the perfect time for Asuka to leave and let the new crop of talent grow as performers.
The current NXT Women’s Champion has stayed down in Florida to help establish the new generation of female talent on WWE’s developmental brand, but now is the time for her to be where she belongs, on WWE’s main roster.
#4 Whoever beats her would look like a star
If Asuka does indeed come up to the main roster, she would need to drop the NXT Women’s Championship. While she could vacate the title as Paige did back in 2013, which could happen if WWE wants her to debut on the main roster with her undefeated streak in tact, but if somebody beats her for the belt then that would be headline news and would make a star out of whoever defeats her.
Earlier in this article, I talked about how Ember Moon is maybe one big win away from breaking out as a top star in NXT, a win over the unbeatable Asuka could be exactly what she needs.
Moon has a genuine claim for a title shot right now too after the controversial end to her and Asuka’s previous match at Takeover: Orlando.
Could a rematch at Takeover: Brooklyn III be the perfect time for Ember Moon to dethrone Asuka and take her spot at the top of NXT’s Women’s division?
#5 There will be an influx of talent after the Mae Young Classic
As stated previously, the NXT Women’s Division is looking healthy right now and it is likely to get even better in a few months with the expected influx of talent after the inaugural Mae Young Classic.
The Mae Young Classic is set to wrap up in September of this year and it is widely expected that WWE will sign a number of the participants to full-time contracts, therefore NXT will likely have a number of fresh female faces on the show by the end of 2017.
With this in mind, the likes of Tessa Blanchard, Kairi Sane (formerly Kairi Hojo) and Toni Storm could help fill the void left by Asuka if she does indeed move to the main roster.
#6 The main roster’s Women’s division needs a boost
While the Women’s wrestling revolution has continued to set records and make history in recent weeks, it certainly hasn’t been as hot as it was a year ago.
This might have something to do with the fact that the same women fight each other every week, Mickie James is the only new face on the roster since last year’s brand split and she has already become an afterthought on WWE television.
The division has become stale and Asuka would definitely inject some life into it, whether she comes to Smackdown Live or Raw, she would have a whole host of new opponents to face, which would be good for both her and the respective division.
Also, depending on which brand she joins, it could lead to a potential marquee match against either a Sasha Banks or Charlotte at next year’s WrestleMania.
