8 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 26)
1. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Look, there's no way around saying this: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka was an absolute banger.
The booking stunk, as we've already mentioned, but the bout itself? Outstanding. It was another first-class war from two of the absolute best wrestlers in the company (regardless of gender), and perhaps even on-pair with their WrestleMania 34 scrap. It's just a shame it didn't happen under better circumstances.
Buoyed by the energy that filled the arena as soon as it was announced that this would be a title fight, the match built in intensity throughout, beginning with the obligatory exploratory phase. The clash started coming alive when this was out of the way, particularly as 'The Empress' hit a desperation Codebreaker to stymie Flair's focused assault on her knee. Then came the big bombs and two-counts, with Charlotte kicking out of a sliding knee, Asuka doing the same for the big boot, then escaping the Moonsault.
The adrenaline was pumping as Charlotte and Asuka raced to the finish, with Flair becoming increasingly frustrated in her inability to put Asuka away. She did it in the end, though, escaping a triangle, powerbombing 'The Empress' to hell, then tapping her out to the Figure Eight for the second time in a year.
Absorbing, dramatic, and hard-hitting, Flair vs. Asuka II was every bit as great as you'd expect from these two. We can't fault their work at all.