Asuka vs. Becky Lynch Booked for Royal Rumble

While WWE may have gotten rid of the mandatory rematch clause, Becky Lynch is getting another shot [...]

By Jeremy Snodgrass

While WWE may have gotten rid of the mandatory rematch clause, Becky Lynch is getting another shot at the title she just lost. At the Royal Rumble, The Man will meet SmackDown Women's Champion, Asuka.

WWE announced the match during an episode of Main Event. Why WWE chose such a low key way of making Lynch vs. Asuka official is anyone's guess, but on January 27, this one is happening.

There's no mention on if this disqualifies Lynch from participating in the 2019 Royal Rumble — an event she's favored to win. Obviously, if she beats Asuka, there won't be a need for her to join the battle royal, but a loss would seemingly guarantee her entry.

On top of the respective Royal Rumbles, Lynch and Asuka join Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman as the only matches on the pay-per-view's card. Lynch vs. Asuka doesn't have much precedent as WWE has kept them apart from each other until TLC. However with over a month until the Rumble, WWE will have plenty of time to beef up this storyline and make the match feel like it's can't miss.

Without question, the women of WWE will enter 2019 with more momentum than the men. At this point, WWE's charge is being led by the women's locker room for the first time and it feels like a history-making WrestleMania main event awaits. While early bets say that will be Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey, there is no shortage of parody in the division and the next few months could be delightfully chaotic.

In an interview with the Wincly Podcast, Bubba Ray Dudely touted the state of women's wrestling, underlining that they are indeed fueling Vince McMahon's company.

"I think the WWE women right now are outshining the WWE men," said Ray. "I think Becky, Charlotte, Asuka, and Ronda are doing a phenomenal job. I'm so happy to see Asuka back in the mix because she is the real deal. I mean this is a girl that had matches with Minoru Suzuki in Japan. You wanna talk about bad MF, that's what Asuka is," he said.

"Charlotte is the best female athlete and one of the best athletes, period, in the entire WWE and Becky is the chosen one right now. Becky is the people's champion. So when you have a warrior like Asuka, a phenomenal athlete like Charlotte, and the people's champion with the emotional investment in Becky…now you bring the badass Ronda Rousey? You have four top stars there. I don't care if they're male, female – they are getting the job done," said Dudley.

1comments
Comments ( 1 )

of