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What's the story?
According to reports, Asuka's booking has become a point of contention between the RAW and SmackDown LIVE creative staff, with the WWE ultimately being unsure about how to book the dominant 'Empress of Tomorrow' at the joint-brand pay-per-view Survivor Series.
In case you didn't know...
Asuka has only just arrived on the main roster, following an impressive 510-day unbeaten streak as the NXT Women's Champion. She made her debut at TLC 2017 against the recently released Emma and was triumphant, beating Emma again on the following Monday Night RAW.
The heart of the matter
According to rumours, the RAW and SmackDown LIVE creative teams have been at odds about the outcome of several Survivor Series matches, with Asuka being at the forefront of most their disagreements.
The dilemma is that current plans are calling for SmackDown LIVE's women to emerge victoriously, but the RAW writing team do not want Asuka to lose in any way to the SmackDown LIVE women, especially so soon into her debut.
However, there are also counter-concerns that if Asuka being on the team would damage her character as there's no real reason why the unbeaten Superstar wouldn't be chosen for the team ahead of the likes of Alicia Fox or Nia Jax.
What's next?
If the Dirty Sheets are correct, it seems that the Survivor Series plans haven't been finalised, which should also be evidenced by the fact a WWE Title match and a SmackDown Tag-Team Title will take place on the November 07, 2017, episode of SmackDown Live. At the moment, it looks like anything could happen at Survivor Series.
However, specifically regarding the Asuka situation, The Dirty Sheets went on to add:
If this result is changed, it’ll be solely changed to cater for Asuka and may result in other matches being changed to solely keep her unbeaten.
Author's take
I can see this dilemma being a very real one; in terms of Kayfabe, Monday Night RAW Women's captain Alicia Fox should absolutely jump at the chance to put Asuka on her team, but how then do you put SmackDown over whilst still keeping Asuka unbeaten?
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