10 Recent WWE Burials We Just Can't Explain

10. Asuka

A small peak behind the curtain here.

Your writer previously had Dolph Ziggler earmarked for this entry before recalling the rank indifference Asuka had received from the creative team from the Royal Rumble onwards.

In truth, even her feud with Becky Lynch felt like a roadblock for both. 'The Man' was destined to win the Royal Rumble or work her way into a programme with Ronda Rousey through alternate means, whilst 'The Empress Of Tomorrow' stood no chance of becoming the blu brand's next top babyface when she was in there with the company's outright biggest one.

It failed both performers, but one of Asuka's biggest wins that night may as well have been her last considering the state of her push in the aftermath. Forgotten entirely as the company went full steam ahead with the Lynch/Ronda Rousey/Charlotte Flair main event, SmackDown Live's limp undercard spat out Mandy Rose as a one-month opponent as fans awaited a bonafide WrestleMania challenger that never came.

The hallmarks of the modern burial were apparent when she lost to Charlotte Flair just two weeks out. Virtually everybody that popped half to death to see her rebuilt at December's Tables, Ladders and Chairs weren't remotely bothered about her prospects at the 'Show Of Shows'. As weren't WWE - she wasn't even given a token gesture win in the Women's Battle Royal.