10 Ups And 12 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 34

5. Another Streak Bites The Dust

asuka charlotte flair
WWE.com

What an insanely stupid decision.

For nearly three years, Asuka has not been pinned or submitted. It’s a streak that rivals all others in WWE history. The company played it up repeatedly for the past several months, leaving open the question of when she’d finally lose it. Conventional wisdom said she would enjoy a lengthy reign as champion before someone dethroned her, thus elevating that person.

Instead, Asuka lost her WrestleMania debut to Charlotte Flair in a phenomenal match (more on the bout itself later). The question here is: Why? Why in the blue hell would you end the streak here, and now?

Asuka winning the title and reigning as an undefeated champion would have been a great storyline, with challengers lining up until someone finally toppled her. Charlotte, who has accomplished more than any other female in WWE in recent history, didn’t need the win per sé. Losing a hard-fought match would have been fine for her.

The other question is: What happens next for Asuka?

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.