When WWE started their big free agent frenzy a couple years back, Asuka was one of the signees. Since then, she has cemented herself as a force in the NXT women’s division. Asuka the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion ever (by a long shot). Not only that, but she is also totally undefeated. That’s right, folks: since Asuka started in NXT, she hasn’t lost. At all. Essentially, she has become too good for NXT in and of itself. It’s time for Asuka to move on from NXT, and here’s why.
Note: This article is a follow-up to last week’s NXT Recap piece. If you missed it, you can find that article here.
It’s Time for Asuka to Move On from NXT
State of the Raw Women’s Division
Quick, think of two women’s wrestlers on Raw. Did you think of Sasha Banks and Charlotte? Okay, good, because so did everyone else. Maybe a small percentage thought about Bayley due to her recent breakout performances, but the point still stands.
For all intents and purposes, there are only three women that actually mean something on the Raw roster. Banks, Bayley, and Charlotte are entertaining, yes, but let’s be honest with ourselves. In one on one situations, there are only three combinations of matches on Raw. And they’ve gotten old really, really quickly. Nia Jax is pretty cool, and she’s begun to help the women’s division too, but it’s just not enough. Raw‘s women’s division needs help, and it needs it fast.
And that’s where Asuka comes in. By moving her up to Raw, WWE’s possible amount of combinations skyrockets. Not only does she help WWE, but she helps the fans as well. While she works on Raw, the fans finally get treated to something fresh from the red brand’s women’s division. And that’s a great sign.
“It’s Time to Shake Things Up Again”
Okay, one thing in WWE is for sure. Call-ups from NXT are always fun, and the fans know this. Usually, most call-ups occur on the night after Wrestlemania, where fans are ravenous and chants run wild. Debuting Asuka on a “Post-Mania Raw” would be insane. Let’s run through why.
First of all, the fans at Post-Mania Raw know their stuff. If you want proof, just watch their reaction to Enzo and Cass‘s debut last year. They knew every word, every hand movement, everything. Surely, the reaction they will give to Asuka (and possibly Shinsuke Nakamura) is going to be great.
Nothing Left To Do
Simply put, there is nothing left for Asuka to accomplish in NXT. As mentioned before, she is completely undefeated. Most of the time, it doesn’t even look close. So to make a long story short, she has nothing left to prove. She has beaten nearly everyone on the roster and has nothing else to do.
Asuka’s current budding feud with Ember Moon should be her last. Considering that NXT is booking Moon to be a monster, she should be the one to finally take the title. Asuka is the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion in history (at nearly 400 days), and it’s time for her to move to bigger things. She’s got bigger fish to fry, and NXT knows that.
Conclusion
As far as her booking goes, Asuka’s reign has been done perfectly. Well, almost. It’s been done very well, but has also been done to death. NXT Creative is beating a dead horse with her and it’s starting to show. Additionally, Raw could make better use of her than NXT is currently doing. She could make good of the Raw women’s division and finally give them another contender to work with. Her main roster call-up could be great if Creative does it at the right time. And finally, her tenure in NXT is just getting boring. The yellow brand had a good thing going, but now it’s time to pass it on to Raw. It’s time for Asuka to move on to bigger and better things.
