10 Amazing Stats On Asuka’s Undefeated Streak
The Hit Parade
WWE only has one pay-per-view remaining before they make it to Asuka's first WrestleMania with her undefeated streak (and the in-built aura that goes hand-in-hand with it) still in tact.
Despite the frenzied worry of the nervously-invested fanbase that migrated over with her from NXT when she landed on the main roster last October, WWE's treatment of the gimmick on the bloated big stage has been virtually flawless.
Adapting the developmental brand's less-is-more approach to suit the churn of the weekly show, the company have tacked major match victories onto her routine squashes of Raw's rank-and-file.
A 'Tables, Ladders and Chairs' debut against Emma was ultimately an aberration - 'The Empress Of Tomorrow' has looked more dominant as the weeks have passed, implying that the company may finally have understood the importance of recreating the journey that made some of NXT's finest so beloved in the first place.
Too often, management have been guilty of dumping developmental performers onto shows as ready-made megastars, despite only really harnessing the support for their story from a core audience often too jaded to attend live shows and provide the requisite noise. The continuation of Asuka's undefeated streak has legitimised her to an even wider audience, and the maintenance of it for at least another month will fruitfully proffer one of WrestleMania's biggest attraction.
Shakira presumably wasn't referring to a leaping attack when she crucially reminded the world that "Hips Don't Lie". But when it comes to Asuka, the stats tell similar truths...
10. Crash Of The Champions
WWE's recent Royal Rumble-esque video package on the Asuka's remarkable run dropped quick hits on 'The Empress Of Tomorrow', but the devil is always in the detail they had neither the time nor the inclination to deliver.
Noting how eight of her many victims had been former Women's Champions and all tapped, the package then glossed over the sheer scale of the achievement.
The statistic improves exponentially when reviewing the list of those that have been reduced to mercy pleas.
Starting with the famous night in Dallas she lifted her one and only NXT Title, there's Bayley (1) - perhaps the gutsiest competitor to stare down the 'Empress Of Tomorrow'. Ember Moon (2) - the woman that replaced (but never defeated) her - suffered similar punishment in her own best efforts against the former titleholder. Alexa Bliss (3) is lucky to still have working arms (more on that later), whilst Alicia Fox (4) and Mickie James' (5) previous reigns were distant memories as they lay helpless in Asuka's clutch.
Sasha Banks (6) has aspirations of being the best women's wrestler of all time, but even she succumbed following a magnificent Monday Night Raw clash. Veteran Natalya (7) was subdued at the Survivor Series, whilst Becky Lynch (8) couldn't kick some Japan lass *ss when the pair met on a house show in Asuka's home nation.