WWE's 10 Biggest Falls From Grace In 2018

Asuka came into 2018 still undefeated on both NXT and the main roster. She kicked off the year by winning the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match, etching herself into the annals of WWE history forever. The Empress of Tomorrow would remain undefeated for several months after this, beating Nia Jax in a series of matches and even winning WWE's first-ever Mixed Match Challenge alongside The Miz (which is a strange pairing in kayfabe, but I won't ask questions). Then, after an unprecedented 914 days of winning, Asuka lost cleanly by submission to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34.

The problem was not that she lost to Charlotte - the problem was that she lost by a submission that wasn't even fully locked in. The even bigger problem was when they had Asuka put over Charlotte in a post-match promo. It was as if they wanted to destroy Asuka's entire aura in one fell swoop.

To make matters worse, Asuka went on to look absolutely foolish against Carmella (of all people) on two consecutive pay-per-views. Then they inexplicably took her off television for a while, only to have her return and lose to The IIconics at Super Show-Down, to R-bloody-Truth and Carmella in the Mixed Match Challenge, and to Nia-f***ing-Jax at Survivor Series. Utter tripe.

Sure, she finally won the SmackDown Women's Championship at the end of the year, but she honestly feels like a placeholder for Charlotte or Becky Lynch. She should have been the biggest thing in the women's division; a worthy opponent for Ronda Rousey. Instead, she's been reduced to just another spot on the roster.