'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Asuka's streak came to a shocking end at WrestleMania last night when Charlotte defeated The Empress of Tomorrow to retain her SmackDown Women's Championship, but it seems that Asuka's move set was watered down somewhat ahead of the bout.
In case you didn't know...
Asuka has been undefeated throughout her WWE career, which included a lengthy reign as NXT Women's Champion, before her promotion to the main roster.
The Empress of Tomorrow and Charlotte's match has been building ever since Asuka first stepped into WWE with many fans believing that Charlotte would be another woman who was added to Asuka's streak, but this wasn't the case.
Asuka's match with Charlotte definitely didn't disappoint but the shock ending saw the former NXT Champion's streak become the second huge streak that was ended in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
The heart of the matter
Dave Meltzer discussed Asuka's match with Charlotte on today's Wrestling Observer Radio, where he revealed that the Japanese star was banned from using one of her signature moves in one of the biggest matches of her career because Ronda Rousey used it as one of the bigger moves in her debut match. (Transcript via RingsideNews)
“Asuka was banned from using the armbar in this match if you’ll notice. She did a lot of submissions like usually she’ll do the armbar with the triangle and she could only do the triangle.”
Asuka was able to use the triangle throughout her match, but it seems that she was unable to unlock one of her most dangerous moves, which could have had an impact on her performance throughout the match.
What's next?
It was thought that WWE was building towards a streak vs streak match at WrestleMania 35, but now that this is out of the question, it seems that the company could build towards Charlotte vs Ronda instead.
Asuka's future is unclear at this point, but she could head back over to Raw following her loss to the SmackDown Women's Champion.
Author's take
Asuka's streak coming to an end was one of the most shocking moments of last night's show, but it seems that WWE could be building towards a much bigger storyline.
Asuka's armbar was one of the reasons why she was able to remain as dominant as she was for so many years, so taking that away from her could have had a real impact on her performance.
In future, it will be interesting to see how WWE have both Ronda and Asuka in the Raw Women's Division when they have the same signature move.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
