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Asuka has only had four matches on WWE’s main roster but she has already written her name into the company’s record books.
Two years on from her NXT debut, the Japanese sensation is still undefeated in one-on-one matches and her 523-day reign as NXT Women’s champion is among the longest in WWE history.
However, did you know that she has already been defeated by a current SmackDown Live star on an episode of NXT? Or that, including her time as Kana before she joined WWE, she lost matches to two former Cruiserweight champions?
In this article, we look at six WWE personalities – some past, some present – who have defeated “The Empress of Tomorrow”.
#1 Serena Deeb
WWE fans will remember Serena Deeb from the Mae Young Classic tournament, where she defeated Vanessa Borne and lost to Piper Niven, or from her time alongside CM Punk, Joey Mercury and Luke Gallows as a member of the Straight Edge Society.
On 3rd May 2011, she competed against Asuka, then known as Kana, in a 12-minute match for the defunct Japanese promotion SMASH. Kana looked in control when she executed a suplex on Serena, but the former SES member immediately sprang back to her feet, hit a spear, and got the 1-2-3.
#2 Carmella, with an assist from Eva Marie
On the 13 January 2016 episode of NXT, we saw Asuka’s only televised defeat since she signed for WWE.
Competing in an 11-woman Battle Royal, it looked like she was the last survivor when she eliminated Peyton Royce and Billie Kay at the same time. After turning around to celebrate, Eva Marie re-entered the ring to throw her over the top rope. Then, just as Eva thought she had won, Carmella appeared to eliminate Eva.
Granted, Asuka didn’t lose by pinfall or submission, but a defeat is a defeat, and when you consider it was all caused by Eva – widely considered as one of the worst women’s wrestlers of recent years – it’s no wonder it goes unmentioned when people laud her undefeated streak.
#3 Mercedes Martinez
Mercedes Martinez is new to WWE fans. The 37-year-old appeared in the Mae Young Classic tournament earlier this year, making it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to Shayna Baszler, and she has since had two matches on NXT.
On 17 March 2012, at SHIMMER Volume 46, Mercedes reversed a submission move – what we now know as the Asuka Lock – from Kana and hit her with a Fisherman Buster to pick up the win.
Future NXT and WWE stars Leva Bates (Blue Pants), Athena (Ember Moon), Mia Yim, Davina Rose (Bayley) and Jessie McKay (Billie Kay) also featured on the show.
#4 Sara Del Rey
Long before we called her Asuka, Kana was a major star on the independent scene. She was a champion in eight different promotions and regularly found herself competing in the final match on the card.
On October 8, 2011, she took on Sara Del Rey in the main event of CHIKARA Klunk in Love. The two had a match the previous week at SHIMMER Volume 42, in which Kana was victorious by submission, while Del Rey won the 18-minute CHIKARA match by pinfall.
Del Rey is now the Director of Women's Wrestling in NXT and is more commonly known to WWE fans as Sara Amato.
#5 Tajiri
Former WWE star Tajiri was in charge of Japanese promotion SMASH between 2010 and 2012, during which time he was involved in a heated storyline with Asuka, whose Kana character had recently turned heel.
The rivalry led to a one-on-one match on 24 December 2010 at the company’s Happening Eve event. Tajiri was victorious with a vicious kick to the head and then, to add insult to injury, he sprayed green mist in Kana’s face.
Kana would get her revenge two months later when she teamed with Io Shirai & Mio Shirai to defeat Tajiri, Ken Ohka & Yoshiaki Yago in a 6-person tag match.
Tajiri left WWE in April 2017 after being a part of the Cruiserweight Classic. The former Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champion is still wrestling at 47 years old.
#6 Funaki
Funaki spent 12 years in WWE between 1998 and 2010 and is most fondly remembered for his days as “SmackDown’s number one announcer!”.
In the final years of his career, he defeated Kana in a four-minute match for SMASH on 31 March 2011. The two went on to team up with Yoshiaki Fujiwara three months later to defeat Akira, Genichiro Tenryu, Shuri & Tajiri in a handicap match.
Nowadays, Funaki is a Japanese commentator for WWE pay-per-view events and he recently appeared on NXT as an interpreter for Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane.
