8 Ups And 4 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Orlando

4. Women’s Title Bout Rocks

ember moon asuka
WWE.com

Ever since the Four Horsewomen all left NXT, Asuka had really been mostly alone as a skilled wrestler, fighting the likes of Liv Morgan, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and enhancement talent.

That’s not a strong knock against those women, but they aren’t on Bayley, Sasha Banks or Asuka’s level. Whereas women’s title matches legit closed NXT TakeOvers a couple years ago, several recently have been forgettable (save maybe for TakeOver: Toronto last fall with Mickie James).

But Ember Moon matched up nicely with Asuka Saturday night, as the two women traded attacks, brutal strikes and wicked kicks throughout their contest. The cocky champion and the unfazed challenger made for a nice contrast, one that (as noted earlier) should make for an even better rematch with Asuka’s turn taking shape.

Hopefully, this new rivalry will also mark a turning point in the women’s division, a renaissance back to the glory days of 2015 and away from some of the forgettable moments of the past year.

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Contributor
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.