12 WWE Raw 25 Impulse Reactions

9. Nobody Is Ready

Bayley Asuka
WWE.com

Asuka's turn on Bayley, Sasha Banks and Mickie James following their eight-woman victory over Absolution, Nia Jax and Alicia Fox added much-needed spark to Sunday's Royal Rumble match especially considering the staggering lack of effort to promote it elsewhere in the show.

Though their match was a nothing time-filler on a show that shouldn't have required any, the babyface dominance was to be expected in the absence of Paige from the new Raw trio and Nia Jax now completely without a storyline thanks to the ugly suspension of Enzo Amore.

'The Empress Of Tomorrow' sudden assauly on her Rumble rivals was a statement of intent from the former NXT Women's Champion, but could suggest that she perhaps won't seal the deal on Sunday after all. The company are notorious for employing their 50/50 philosophy on go-home shows, with Asuka ostensibly dominant here to justify her elimination on Sunday. She is without question the best possible choice to win the historic clash and - more importantly - travel to WrestleMania as a credible Number One Contender to whomever holds the title at the time.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.