12 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 12)

1. Where's Asuka?

The hype surrounding WrestleMania 35's Raw Women's Championship programme has eclipsed SmackDown's title scene to such an extent that Asuka hasn't even appeared on television since the Royal Rumble, featuring only in a short video package on 5 February, and not at all last night or on 29 January.

This stinks. Yes, Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey is the money-maker, and yes, WWE have to focus on the Women's Tag Team Titles as well, but they're already undermining somebody they're supposed to be rebuilding.

Tapping Lynch out at the Rumble was a huge scalp for 'The Empress Of Tomorrow,' but it means little if she isn't making television. WWE haven't followed up on the victory at all. Now, Asuka's waiting on the sidelines, watching every other woman in the company doing their thing, all because creative have nothing for her; a woman who holds a belt that main-evented the last pay-per-view of 2018.

While this isn't yet a massive problem, it could become one if WWE don't solve it after Elimination Chamber. Giving their SmackDown Women's Champion something interesting to do should be a priority. It isn't, and if WWE were this short of things to do, they should've called up a Shayna Baszler or Kairi Sane for her to scrap with.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.