So what's next for Asuka?

[mistery]

I think after tonight, she's pretty much out of the title picture. Where do you see her ending up? Because they brought her back for a high intensity feud with Becky, had to pivot because of Sasha and Naomi walking out, and she ate the pin three weeks in a row and has looked weak pretty much during the entire build to this triple threat match. It's painfully obvious they see her as a pin eater at this point. What would you do with her? Because while I think she proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she deserves at least one more major title reign, in front of actual audiences this time, that likely isn't in the cards, unfortunately.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

I'm really wondering when her contract is up at this point. It feels like they have nothing for her, nor do they care to have anything substancial for her

She should go to Smackdown and fight Ronda, because they have literally nothing right now.

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 20:16:42 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

I'm really wondering when her contract is up at this point. It feels like they have nothing for her, nor do they care to have anything substancial for her

She should go to Smackdown and fight Ronda, because they have literally nothing right now.

Not gonna happen. Charlotte is slated to return in mid-July apparently. She was just recently added to all of the advertising for Smackdown for those shows. So just in time to take a Summerslam spot from another woman.

Also if I were her, I would be looking at outside options. Because after tonight, Tony Khan would be a complete goddamn fool if he didn't make a serious power play for her, and build the division around her (assuming her contract is up soon). Because she's wildly popular and would definitely bring in a lot of eyes to AEW.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jun 5, 2022 20:23:43 GMT -5 mistery said:

Jun 5, 2022 20:16:42 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

I'm really wondering when her contract is up at this point. It feels like they have nothing for her, nor do they care to have anything substancial for her

She should go to Smackdown and fight Ronda, because they have literally nothing right now.

Not gonna happen. Charlotte is slated to return in mid-July apparently. She was just recently added to all of the advertising for Smackdown for those shows. So just in time to take a Summerslam spot from another woman.

Also if I were her, I would be looking at outside options. Because after tonight, Tony Khan would be a complete goddamn fool if he didn't make a serious power play for her, and build the division around her (assuming her contract is up soon). Because she's wildly popular and would definitely bring in a lot of eyes to AEW.

She would thrive in AEW or anywhere, Kana is great and would be a major piece. I also miss her going nuts with different attires instead of being stuck in just one most of the time.

And I hate Charlotte but I'll be real, she isn't taking a Summerslam spot from another woman on Smackdown, that division is f***ing shit and Raquel's the only one barely worth a damn in their eyes, they probably should run that back after the I Quit match delivered.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

Shuffled over to Smackdown to be fed to Ronda?

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 20:58:25 GMT -5 El Cokehead del Knife Fight said:

Shuffled over to Smackdown to be fed to Ronda?

Probably Ronda and Becky, since they apparently want to do Ronda/Becky next year at Mania.

[Raw is Doodie101]

Being an upper midcard occasional main event wrestler is the worst thing in the world lol.

[theironyuppie]

I assume she'll be part of MITB. Though it was always obvious she was going to take the pin so Bianca/Becky would keep on going despite already having a pretty definitive ending at Mania.

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 21:13:56 GMT -5 Raw is Doodie101 said:

Being an upper midcard occasional main event wrestler is the worst thing in the world lol.

...You don't seem to realize the problem, do you? Let me break it down for you:

She hasn't won a singles match clean since February of 2021. She was booked like a complete loser starting in December 2020, but it only accelerated once Rhea debuted. Where Asuka never looked strong even once in their feud. And then after the title, she constantly took pins to put over Charlotte and Rhea. And then lost to Nikki ASH. And then got outsmarted by Nikki ASH again at MITB. And then took time off for the injury. Returned, and beat Becky through cheating. Then lost clean to Becky the next week. And then the week after that, lost to Bianca completely clean and then got laid out by Becky. And then took the clean pin tonight.

You seriously don't see the problem here? She's not an upper midcard talent. She's basically one tier above jobber right now.

[Raw is Doodie101]

Probably wrestle in MITB and then join Smackdown with Becky after Summerslam. Probably then feud with Ronda for a couple of months. Asuka at this point is in the perfect position for her. She's the HBK/AJ Styles of the women's division. Always credible. Can always feud for the title. But doesn't need the title. She's great in the position she's at.

[Raw is Doodie101]

Jun 5, 2022 21:19:57 GMT -5 mistery said:

Jun 5, 2022 21:13:56 GMT -5 Raw is Doodie101 said:

Being an upper midcard occasional main event wrestler is the worst thing in the world lol.

...You don't seem to realize the problem, do you? Let me break it down for you:

She hasn't won a singles match clean since February of 2021. She was booked like a complete loser starting in December 2020, but it only accelerated once Rhea debuted. Where Asuka never looked strong even once in their feud. And then after the title, she constantly took pins to put over Charlotte and Rhea. And then lost to Nikki ASH. And then got outsmarted by Nikki ASH again at MITB. And then took time off for the injury. Returned, and beat Becky through cheating. Then lost clean to Becky the next week. And then the week after that, lost to Bianca completely clean and then got laid out by Becky. And then took the clean pin tonight.

You seriously don't see the problem here? She's not an upper midcard talent. She's basically one tier above jobber right now.

Nope. I think she's always credible and the crowd seems to think so as well. You don't always need to win to be credible IMO.

[Raw is Doodie101]

Like, have her squash Carmella or Sonya if you really need her to get wins. But I don't think her credibility is shot because she lost tonight.

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 21:21:26 GMT -5 Raw is Doodie101 said:

Jun 5, 2022 21:19:57 GMT -5 mistery said:

...You don't seem to realize the problem, do you? Let me break it down for you:

She hasn't won a singles match clean since February of 2021. She was booked like a complete loser starting in December 2020, but it only accelerated once Rhea debuted. Where Asuka never looked strong even once in their feud. And then after the title, she constantly took pins to put over Charlotte and Rhea. And then lost to Nikki ASH. And then got outsmarted by Nikki ASH again at MITB. And then took time off for the injury. Returned, and beat Becky through cheating. Then lost clean to Becky the next week. And then the week after that, lost to Bianca completely clean and then got laid out by Becky. And then took the clean pin tonight.

You seriously don't see the problem here? She's not an upper midcard talent. She's basically one tier above jobber right now.

Nope. I think she's always credible and the crowd seems to think so as well. You don't always need to win to be credible IMO.

Again, you are missing the goddamn point here. I agree you don't always need to win.

HOWEVER:

She should still be winning way more than losing. And that isn't happening. And she should be winning decisively at that. If a talent keeps losing, they eventually lose audience support. It's really not that complicated. Asuka isn't a top woman. She's barely in the midcard right now. If you think her performance tonight will have any positive impact on her booking going forward, you don't know WWE booking all that well. I fully expect her to lose all of her feuds going forward until she either retires, or has enough and walks out on this company.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jun 5, 2022 21:21:26 GMT -5 Raw is Doodie101 said:

Jun 5, 2022 21:19:57 GMT -5 mistery said:

...You don't seem to realize the problem, do you? Let me break it down for you:

She hasn't won a singles match clean since February of 2021. She was booked like a complete loser starting in December 2020, but it only accelerated once Rhea debuted. Where Asuka never looked strong even once in their feud. And then after the title, she constantly took pins to put over Charlotte and Rhea. And then lost to Nikki ASH. And then got outsmarted by Nikki ASH again at MITB. And then took time off for the injury. Returned, and beat Becky through cheating. Then lost clean to Becky the next week. And then the week after that, lost to Bianca completely clean and then got laid out by Becky. And then took the clean pin tonight.

You seriously don't see the problem here? She's not an upper midcard talent. She's basically one tier above jobber right now.

Nope. I think she's always credible and the crowd seems to think so as well. You don't always need to win to be credible IMO.

They've constantly booked her like a joke in big situations

Bray Wyatt was always over too WWE wise, but his booking was trash quite a lot of times. Some people are just bulletproof, Asuka is one of them thankfully. She's won a lot, but her booking has always stood out as "We don't care to protect you, like, at all"

[noah29]

Jun 5, 2022 20:23:43 GMT -5 mistery said:

Jun 5, 2022 20:16:42 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

I'm really wondering when her contract is up at this point. It feels like they have nothing for her, nor do they care to have anything substancial for her

She should go to Smackdown and fight Ronda, because they have literally nothing right now.

Not gonna happen. Charlotte is slated to return in mid-July apparently. She was just recently added to all of the advertising for Smackdown for those shows. So just in time to take a Summerslam spot from another woman.

Also if I were her, I would be looking at outside options. Because after tonight, Tony Khan would be a complete goddamn fool if he didn't make a serious power play for her, and build the division around her (assuming her contract is up soon). Because she's wildly popular and would definitely bring in a lot of eyes to AEW.

And isn't Sasha suppose to go to AEW once her contract is up (Could be wrong)? Her  & Asuka would def top the AEW womens division...

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 22:17:22 GMT -5 noah29 said:

Jun 5, 2022 20:23:43 GMT -5 mistery said:

Not gonna happen. Charlotte is slated to return in mid-July apparently. She was just recently added to all of the advertising for Smackdown for those shows. So just in time to take a Summerslam spot from another woman.

Also if I were her, I would be looking at outside options. Because after tonight, Tony Khan would be a complete goddamn fool if he didn't make a serious power play for her, and build the division around her (assuming her contract is up soon). Because she's wildly popular and would definitely bring in a lot of eyes to AEW.

And isn't Sasha suppose to go to AEW once her contract is up (Could be wrong)? Her  & Asuka would def top the AEW womens division...

Nah. Sasha to AEW was never confirmed.

[asuka007]

It would have made so much sense to have Becky get pinned and do Bianca vs. Asuka at least for MITB.

The issue is that the women’s division has no real midcard either in terms of booking.

[mistery]

Jun 5, 2022 22:41:00 GMT -5 asuka007 said:

It would have made so much sense to have Becky get pinned and do Bianca vs. Asuka at least for MITB.

The issue is that the women’s division has no real midcard either in terms of booking.

Yup. Which means "optimistically" if you are a fan of Asuka, the next couple of months are going to be really rough, because Becky/Bianca is going to be the program until probably Summerslam or Clash. And Asuka will probably be putting over Rhea and Alexa over the next few months without actually looking good either. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked if she ends up having to put over Doudrop and Nikki ASH whenever she gets her new character.

Any sort of cynicism about Asuka's booking is entirely warranted at this point. Because despite being 40-41, she is still significantly better than a lot of the younger women and as tonight demonstrated, has shown no signs of ring rust or deterioration. This is why I'm firmly in support of Asuka leaving this godforsaken company and going elsewhere, where her talents will definitely be more appreciated. Because WWE clearly has no idea what they have on their hands. Again. They would rather run Bianca/Becky into the ground than actually flesh out the programs.

Hell, if they wanted to do a midcard thing, retire the women's tag titles, and introduce a women's midcard belt for both brands. Give Asuka one, and then someone like Raquel the other.

[häšhtå.gdālėÿ]

Fringe contender, occasional title winner, putter-over’er of the flavor of the month.

[Jindrak Mark]

Hopefully a move to Smackdown and feud with Ronda. I can see them working well together.

There’s a good chance that Asuka would get Ronda booed but that’s no big deal considering the long term plan is probably for her to be heel by Wrestlemania anyway.