10 WWE TLC 2017 Impulse Reactions

10. Hot Start

In a predictions piece for this very show, it was noted that this match would benefit best from going on first. WWE have so often been presented with a best case scenario from NXT and rapidly flushed away the good will and sentiment, but it was at least an example of 'so far, so good' for the 'Empress Of Tomorrow' as she laid it on thick in the closing moments of her show-opener with Emma.

The pair presented an abbreviated version of their minor classic at December 2015's NXT TakeOver: London card, in which Emma proffered herself as the first significant threat to an undefeated streak then still in its embryonic stages.

The roles were slightly different this time, but the match followed several similar beats and rhythms. Dazzling with early offence, Asuka sat back and drew her Australian opponent in, absorbing some of her hardest hits before firing back with lethal blows of her own to seal the deal with a match-winning Asuka Lock.

Neither squash nor bore, the contest didn't over-deliver on measured expectations, but didn't underwhelm either. 'The Empress Of Tomorrow' was both a grower and a show-er on NXT, and it's this the company need to work hardest to mimic if her main roster trajectory is to be as smooth.