Why Charlotte vs Asuka Should Main Event Wrestlemania

 

Around this time of year in the wrestling world, everyone is excited for something.

For some people, it’s the potential of John Cena vs Undertaker that gets them pumped up. A likely clash of legends on the Grandest Stage Of Them All.

For others, it’s Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar. I know a lot of people are looking forward to seeing Reigns finally get his well-deserved Universal Championship run...or they just want to see Brock Lesnar lose.

I’m sure many other matches also have a fair amount of hype in the wrestling world as well. Whether it be the Indy dream match of Nakamura vs Styles othe debut of Ronda Rousey, this year seems to have no shortage of potential main events.

Michael Cole style match descriptions aside, I feel like there’s one match that’s been flying under the radar for main event consideration: Asuka vs Charlotte.

To me, Asuka vs Charlotte has the right mixture of dynamics that most people seem to look for when it comes to a main event match.

For starters, the in-ring work of both competitors should be great. That’s not something you can necessarily say with certainty for some of the other potential main event matches.

While Undertaker and John Cena probably could have put on a barn burner years ago, last years Wrestlemania didn’t inspire confidence in what’s left of Undertaker’s big match abilities.

It’s true that even I feel like this year might be different from last for the deadman, but that doesn’t change the fact that the match has a pretty sizable question mark hanging over it as far as match quality is concerned.

Likewise, I don’t think I need to wax on about the potential dangers of Ronda Rousey having her first match at Wrestlemania. Having a match comprised of two part-timers, a rookie, and a board executive main event Wrestlemania feels like it’s a formula ripe for a questionable match.

Asuka vs Charlotte avoids all of these concerns by featuring two of the best in-ring workers on the roster in their respective primes. 

Charlotte’s injury concerns aside, she’s proven time and time again that she can put on a show when it counts. Asuka has also had some quality matches of her own, especially with Ember Moon down in NXT.

In-ring quality isn’t everything though, so let’s analyze the storyline potentials we have available for a main event.

While Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns probably has the makings of a sound match, it hasn’t been an exactly inspiring story. I realize that the work WWE has going with Lesnar being lazy has been effective at times with the crowd, but it really hasn’t made for much compelling storytelling.

It’s hard to believe that a guy, maybe I should say THE GUY, who has a near impeccable record of receiving opportunities on the main roster is actually going to face some sort of wrath from Vince McMahon.

Similarly, it’s been hard to believe that John Cena won’t have a match at Wrestlemania given that he’s been the face of WWE for only about a decade or so. Even if we go all the way till the big day itself without a John Cena match announced, I would bet a pretty penny on Undertaker showing up for one last ride.

Charlotte vs Asuka, while not outright telling a brilliant story so far, has all the makings of a compelling one.

Much for the same reason that people are itching to Styles vs Nakamura, people should be intrigued by Charlotte and Asuka. It’s a match between two people who, now that their storylines have intersected, seemed like they were always destined for a Wrestlemania match.

Charlotte, with her pay-per-view undefeated streak that lasted months, has arguably been the face of the Women’s a Revolution along with Sasha Banks.

Asuka, with her Goldberg besting undefeated streak, has been built as an unstoppable force just waiting for someone the likes of Charlotte to challenge her on the grand stage.

If you took away the pre-WWE history of Styles vs Nakamura, I feel like their story lines up quite well with those sentiments.

If the storylines seem about equal, and one could argue that the match work has the potential to be on both sides, then why is it that Charlotte and Asuka should main event Wrestlemania?

It comes down to predictability. 

While the predictability angle may seem like a knock on Charlotte vs Asuka, it’s really not as cut and dry as people think.

Styles vs Nakamura, for as amazing as the match may be, seems to have a likely outcome. Nakamura winning at Wrestlemania is what pushes the storyline along the most. 

Styles has exhausted many of his title defense options on the Smackdown roster. Nakamura, on the other hand, has had few real rivalries since coming up from NXT.

This, combined with the speculation being that Styles is off to Raw once Wrestlemania season ends, leads me to feel like the match has an obvious outcome.

To a lot of people, it would seem that Asuka and Charlotte appears the same way as well. Asuka gets her first win at Wrestlemania and establishes herself as the top competitor of the Women’s division.

After defeating Banks, Bayley, Jax, and Charlotte, that fact will be indisputable. It also raises the question of what’s next.

Asuka could go on to fight some other Smackdown faces like Becky Lynch and Natalya after Wrestlemania, but no one is really going to buy that she would lose to them.

 

Ronda Rousey vs Asuka, the match everyone assumes will happen sometime after Wrestlemania, probably will be saved for a big event six or more months away like Summerslam if Asuka is champion.

These factors, to me, put a big asterisks by the allegedly predetermined outcome of Asuka triumphing at Wrestlemania. 

On the other hand, a Charlotte victory seems to open up some potential better options for the Smackdown Women’s Division.

If Charlotte were to win at Wrestlemania, that puts an Asuka vs Charlotte rivalry at the forefront of major feuds after Wrestlemania. 

Asuka will surely be booked as wanting to avenge the death of her streak, perhaps even with a heel turn if we really want to delve into armchair booking, and thus, the Smackdown women’s division will be set until the winner of said rivalry goes on to confront Rousey months from now.

All in all, Asuka vs Charlotte appears to not be the forgone conclusion that some make it out to be.

It is also why Asuka vs Charlotte should close the show out at Wrestlemania. No match on the card has the same combination of intrigue, in-ring quality, and storytelling that those two bring to the table.

It may sound crazy with how many big matchups are on the card, but WWE should take a shot at letting the Women’s Revolution headline the Grandest Stage Of Them All.