Charlotte Flair Snaps, Asuka Stands Tall Ahead of SmackDown TLC Title Match

Kimberly Schueler
Asuka (source: WWE)

Two out of the three competitors—Charlotte Flair and Asuka—in Sunday’s highly-anticipated TLC triple threat match for Becky Lynch‘s SmackDown Women’s Championship faced off in the main event of this week’s SmackDown LIVE. The match wasn’t just about gaining momentum going into TLC: Flair broke Asuka’s years-long undefeated streak at WrestleMania 34 and they haven’t had a one-on-one rematch since.

Old tensions rose again between Flair and Asuka at last week‘s contract signing, which culminated in Asuka challenging Flair to a match. “The Queen” and “The Empress” ended up in a tag team match against Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, and their singles rematch was announced later in the episode.

This week, Flair vs. Asuka II lived up to expectations and then some. Both women gave it their all and pushed each other to the limit with a mix of strikes, expert submissions, and high-impact moves. Each managed to escape the other’s devastating finishers, the Figure-Four and the Asuka Lock.

The only thing fans could say they didn’t get from this match was a payoff. When both wrestlers ended up outside of the ring, Flair grabbed a kendo stick, started beating her opponent with it and was disqualified just like she was in her Survivor Series bout against Ronda Rousey.

Like Rousey, it’s unlikely that Asuka will accept this W by DQ as a definitive win over Flair. However, she can definitively say she ended this episode with the most momentum going into TLC. After the match, Lynch briefly took control of the kendo stick, but Asuka fought off Lynch, beat both opponents with the weapon, and stood tall on the announce table, bamboo sword held high, as the crowd cheered on the woman who could become their new SmackDown Women’s Champion this Sunday.


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