10 Ways The WWE Has Failed Asuka

There was a time in WWE that Asuka was considered to be one of the most feared, dominant, exciting performers on the entire roster. Frankly, you could probably extend that throughout the entire wrestling world. But continual mishandling of her since she made her way to the main roster has utterly destroyed that mystique. And even when it seemed like WWE is on the verge of putting Asuka in the position she should be in, the company would drop the ball yet again. As it turns out, the one person not ready for Asuka was Vince McMahon.

10 Ronda Rousey's Debut

One of the first big events of Asuka's main roster run was winning the inaugural Women's Royal Rumble Match. She was left with the choice of facing Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Champion or Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship. But the celebratory moment was stepped on by the sudden debut of Ronda Rousey to close out the pay-per-view. This wasn't Ronda's fault at all but it was a bad choice on the part of the WWE as it brutally undercut Asuka's moment.

9 WrestleMania 34 Loss

Ultimately, Asuka chose to face Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34 for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Fans expected the coronation of the Empress but instead watched the Queen snap Asuka's 914 day winning streak.

The end of her winning streak was far more devastating to her career than not winning a championship. Once the streak was gone, so was the air of domination that surrounded her gimmick. It's been two years since that loss and her career is still suffering the consequences of it.

8 James Ellsworth's Interference

After Asuka was drafted to SmackDown, she set her sights on Carmella's ill-gotten SmackDown Women's Championship. Carmella won the Women's MITB match and the title with the help of James Ellsworth, and retained it with his help, as well. Every opportunity Asuka got to take the belt off of Carmella was spoiled by Ellsworth. That was the point of the Carmella/Ellsworth dynamic but it was still unfortunate to see Asuka's career sacrificed to that angle repeatedly.

7 Tag Team With Naomi

After Asuka's program with Carmella came to an end, she started to work with Naomi as a tag team. It all began with Asuka providing the save when Naomi was jumped by both members of The IIconics.

Asuka and Naomi had a great dynamic, one that had a huge amount of potential. But before they could get rolling, their tag team came to a quick end, which was unfortunate for both wrestlers. The duo certainly could have been something amazing if they had been given the chance to grow.

6 Losing The SmackDown Women's Championship

Part of Asuka's path after the false start of her tag team with Naomi was finally winning the SmackDown Women's Championship in a ladder match against Charlotte and Becky Lynch. But she quite unexpectedly lost the belt right before WrestleMania 35 solely to enhance the Triple Threat main event title match between Charlotte, Ronda Rousey and Becky. It also negatively impacted the four women who were supposed to compete to face Asuka at WrestleMania 35, as well.

5 The Kabuki Warriors Tag Team Title Reign

Eventually, Asuka would finally get something going with her friend and another former NXT Women's Champion, Kairi Sane. They formed a tag team called The Kabuki Warriors, and would go on to win the Women's Tag Team Championships.

While their reign held some fantastic matches, it never really got the respect it deserved from WWE management. That was probably less about Asuka and more about how the Women's Tag Team Championships are generally an afterthought in WWE.

4 No Clean Victories

Asuka recently captured the Raw Women's Championship in a really roundabout way and lost it in an even more confusing fashion. But she was a fighting champion during her short run. The weird thing was that virtually none of her victories were clean. All of them had some sort of strange finish or controversy involved in them. It's nearly impossible to establish someone as a dominant champion without a series of dominant victories. It all made Asuka look like a placeholder champion in the eyes of the WWE.

3 Kind Of Losing The Raw Women's Championship

At The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Sasha Banks challenged Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship. The finish of the match was an absolute train wreck. Asuka went for the green mist and took the referee out by accident.

Bayley got involved, put on the ref's shirt and counted the pinfall. Sasha then claimed she was champion and left with the belt. This left fans in limbo as to what was going on. The only thing clear was that Asuka's career was once again being sacrificed for another storyline.

2 Actually Losing The Raw Women's Championship

To clarify the situation, Stephanie McMahon ordered a rematch to determine who the true Raw Women's Champion was. She even altered the rules so the title could change hands due to DQ or interference. Naturally, Bayley got involved but by attacking Kairi Sane. Asuka chose her friend over the title and was counted out, confirming Sasha as the Raw Women's Champion. This two part loss of her title was disappointing to say the least, and a period on the end of a championship reign the WWE obviously hadn't planned on.

1 How She Won The Raw & SmackDown Championships

This might not seem like a big deal, but it says a lot about how WWE sees Asuka. While she has had short runs with both titles, Asuka did not pin of submit anyone to win them. She picked up the SmackDown title in a Triple Threat Ladder Match. Then, she was handed the Raw title due to Becky Lynch's pregnancy after winning the MITB briefcase. Winning a title with a decisive pinfall or submission over another competitor sets the tone for a title reign. For Asuka to be considered dominant, she needs that kind of title win.

NEXT: 10 Asuka Dream Matches Fans Could Still See