Asuka losing to Charlotte at WrestleMania 34 came with all the usual bleating calls from WWE apologists to "let it play out" and "follow the story", but the 'Empress Of Tomorrow' still finds herself on the road to recovery rather than WrestleMania 35 after one of the biggest slumps in recent history.
Falling to 'The Queen' was one (extremely concerning) thing, but treading water on SmackDown Live's midcard was another too far. She succumbed to the sterile stupidity of James Ellsworth en route to a loss to Carmella, before a friendship with Naomi became a broadly racist 80s buddy cop movie.
Perception and aura have never been more important than in 2018 WWE. In spite of a Royal Rumble win, it was sadly the year Asuka had both ripped from her grasp.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but 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 in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. 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 sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
