It has been many years since there was buzz surrounding WWE signing a new women's wrestler to their roster. Fans were excited about Awesome Kong coming in five years ago, but since then, the Divas division has been stuck in a state of flux. However, with women's wrestling in NXT as relevant as it has ever been, it was high time WWE enlisted fresh blood to the brand, especially with Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch getting promoted to the main roster. Enter Asuka. A Japanese wrestling sensation since 2004, Asuka was exactly what was needed in NXT to freshen up the women's division and to add to its building momentum. She was shown in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August with news breaking shortly thereafter she had been signed to a developmental deal with the company. Mere weeks later, she debuted on the Sept. 23 edition of NXT with plenty of fanfare, being introduced by NXT general manager William Regal as the one of the hottest free agents in women's wrestling. She was soon interrupted by Emma and Dana Brooke, who coerced her into leaving the ring and retreating to the back. Oddly enough, Asuka gave in to their demands, but instead of cowardly walking away, she shot back a sinister smile at the blond bombshells, indicating that their war had only just begun. Her matches with Brooke and Emma at TakeOver: Respect and TakeOver: London, respectively, were equally impressive.
Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.