In terms of in-ring skills, Asuka is one of the best female wrestlers to ever step into a WWE ring, always showcasing her intense, yet very clean wrestling style. She came to WWE in 2015, and since then she has made her mark, winning eight titles and delivering many amazing matches.
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Over the years, The Empress Of Tomorrow has had several rivalries, some were fleeting and forgettable, but others were important and lasting. So, without further ado, below we take a look at every major Asuka WWE rivalry ranked from worst to best.
10 Nia Jax
On June 8, 2016, at NXT TakeOver: The End, NXT Women's Champion Asuka defeated Nia Jax in a solid match. Six months later, Nia Jax made another attempt, but again fell to the Japanese star.
Their paths crossed again in the main roster, at Elimination Chamber 2018. Asuka defeated Jax again and then in 2020 they had a terrible feud for the Raw Women's Title. They had an awful match at Backlash 2020, which ended in a double count-out, and the next day on Monday Night Raw, Asuka retained the title in another lackluster match.
9 Carmella
Asuka and Carmella had a mediocre rivalry in 2018, and it's no wonder if you already forgot about it. At Money In The Bank 2018, Carmella defeated Asuka in a boring match to retain the SmackDown Women's Title.
Then Asuka had to defeat James Ellsworth to earn a rematch at Extreme Rules, and admittedly, the rematch was even worse, with absurd booking and both women looking like fools.
8 Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley got the call-up to the main roster and wasted no time, as she challenged Raw Women’s Champion Asuka. The Nightmare defeated The Empress Of Tomorrow at WrestleMania 37, putting an end to her 231-day title reign.
Asuka got her rematch the following day, but Charlotte Flair showed up to attack them both. These three women collided at WrestleMania Backlash, and Ripley retained after pinning Asuka. Overall, this was an average rivalry.
7 Nikki Cross
At NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Asuka defeated Nikki Cross and Ruby Riott to retain the NXT Women's Title, but Nikki Cross wanted a shot in singles action. So on the June 28, 2017, episode of NXT, Asuka and Nikki Cross collided in a tremendous Last Woman Standing match - it was an absolutely formidable bout. Asuka won the match and continued her historic reign.
6 Ember Moon
Ember Moon was one of Asuka's biggest NXT rivals. Asuka successfully defended the NXT Women's Title against Ember Moon at NXT TakeOver: Orlando. That match was great, but the rematch at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 3 was even better.
In fact, that was one of the best women's matches in NXT history. Once again, Asuka retained the title and both women benefited from the feud.
5 Mickie James
This rivalry was very important for Asuka, as she worked with the legendary Mickie James, defeating her at NXT TakeOver: Toronto to retain the NXT Women's Title. Mickie James did a terrific job elevating Asuka, who obviously gained tremendous momentum after defeating James.
The match was pretty good, by the way. It's also worth mentioning that Asuka retained the Raw Women's Title against Mickie James on the September 14, 2020, episode of Monday Night Raw, and while this win didn't make as much of an impact as the first one, it was also important.
4 Sasha Banks
Asuka and Sasha Banks had a top-notch rivalry in 2020, too bad there were no fans to give them a standing ovation. Their first match was at The Horror Show At WWE Extreme Rules, a superb match which was declared as a no-contest. Then, on Monday Night Raw, The Boss defeated The Empress Of Tomorrow via count-out to win the Raw Women’s Title.
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At SummerSlam 2020, they delivered another fantastic match in which Asuka managed to regain the title. And the whole story, involving Bayley and Kairi Sane, was great. The icing of the cake was their amazing Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series 2020.
3 Charlotte Flair
Asuka won the 2018 Royal Rumble and decided to challenge SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34. However, Asuka was unable to complete the mission and was defeated after a memorable match. Months later, Asuka won a Triple Threat TLC match against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to become SmackDown Women's Champion, although three months later Asuka dropped the title to Charlotte.
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Eventually Asuka and Charlotte won the tag team titles together, but that didn't mean they were friends, as after that they feuded again. Asuka and Charlotte have a lot of chemistry, they have never had a bad match and have had an excellent rivalry.
2 Bayley
Bayley was Asuka's first major rival in WWE. Their rivalry arose when Asuka challenged NXT Women's Champion Bayley, and at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, Asuka defeated Bayley in an excellent match to win the championship. Then, at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2, Asuka retained the title in a sensational rematch.
Years later they feuded again in the main roster, both for the tag team titles and the SmackDown Women's Title, but this time Bayley managed to retain the title in their two encounters (although one was due to disqualification). Overall, this rivalry was awesome.
1 Becky Lynch
Asuka's best WWE rivalry is arguably with Becky Lynch. These two never miss, always put on a great show, and the history between them has been very interesting. It all started when Asuka took the SmackDown Women's Title from Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat TLC match involving Charlotte Flair. Then they faced each other one-on-one for the first time at Royal Rumble 2019, a banger in which Asuka retained the SmackDown Women's Title.
At the next Royal Rumble, Becky defeated Asuka to retain the Raw Women's Title. Two weeks later they had an epic rematch on Raw, and Becky retained again. Becky then awarded her Raw Women's Championship to Asuka due to her pregnancy, after the latter won the Money in the Bank briefcase. And now in 2022, they are settling the score, facing each other in four matches on Raw, all extraordinary, with a version of Becky Lynch showing her hatred for Asuka in a very convincing way.
