Was Winning the Royal Rumble the peak for Asuka and Nakamura?
Asuka and Nakamura have gone on a roller coaster ride in 2018. Will 2019 be better? Photo courtesy of the WWE
By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)
December 12, 2018
One Year Later: Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka
It was a glorious night. Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka walked out of the Royal Rumble as our (supposed) main eventers for WrestleMania. The WWE gave the fans what they wanted, but more importantly, what they needed.
It seemed like diversity was becoming synonymous with the WWE. They were giving two Japanese Superstars a chance to shine, but they also let the Women’s Division close out the 2018 Royal Rumble. Not only the Rumble, but having Ronda Rousey make her triumphant and unforgettable debut.
It all seemed too good to be true. I found it hard to believe that I was going to get a Nakamura win and an Asuka win, so I factored that into my predictions for the Rumble. Shame on me, right? As I analyzed almost a year ago…the proof was in the pudding:
WrestleMania has had 81 superstars in the main event
Only 13 have been non-white, non-European Superstars
Of the 13:
2 are Mr. T
2 are Yokozuna
1 is Lawrence Taylor
5 are the Rock
3 have been Roman Reigns from that past three years
So… 3 celebrities and 5 total individuals
On top of that:
The much easier to calculate 0 representatives in Starrcade (WCW’s self-proclaimed WrestleMania equivalent)
Despite the history going against them, Asuka and Nakamura were given the opportunity that so many before them had coveted and most never sniffed: the main event spotlight at WrestleMania.
Aftermath
As we all know, neither competitor was able to pull off the victory. Asuka wasn’t able to continue her tremendous, seemingly unbreakable streak. Nakamura, unable to connect with the fans, was turned heel.
Asuka fell deeper and deeper into the hole that was the WrestleMania aftermath. She couldn’t find a way to beat Asuka. She was left behind, when the main needed to keep moving. And she eventually found herself flirting with becoming the first Women’s Tag Champs, after she began tagging with Naomi.
The tag titles wouldn’t be the worst fate to befall these superstars, but it definitely was more than a stone’s throw from the main event. While Asuka doesn’t hold a strong command of the english language, it seemed as though the writers gave up on trying to be creative.
The normal loops and journeys we’re all used to are easy for the writers to go back to…time after time…after time…after time. And to ask them to try something new certainly doomed Asuka for a while…but it completely destroyed Nakamura.
Nakamura went on a nut punching tear after WrestleMania. There was no better way for the writers to sell Nakamura as a bad guy. They didn’t trust him to speak. They didn’t trust him to sell in his matches. And they didn’t trust the fans to consume something new.
So! They tried their old schtick and put in zero effort to be creative with Nakamura. And so…he has gone to the waist side.
No Hope for Nakamura
In what feels like more of a consolation prize, Nakamura was gifted the US Title. He’s had some good battles, but Nakamura’s character has now fully embraced the cheating, heel, bad-guy lifestyle. He can’t win clean and barely tries to.
With that being said, the WWE has made it look hard to find him a proper feud. Even in his best battles or predictably great matches, he’s either a sidecar to the real feud, or the characters will come right out and say they don’t care about Nakamura…just like Seth Rollins did before Survivor Series.
Nakamura could be headed out the door and why not? When you get turned into a sideshow rather than given an opportunity to shine, why would anyone subject themselves to that kind of torture? Let alone one of the best wrestlers in the world.
And him leaving could be the reason he has been booked so poorly. If the WWE can feel the departure coming, they might not want to build up future New Japan stars. Sure, it’s pretty selfish and it hurts the product, but it’s not like they haven’t done it before.
If you want a real shot at WWE glory, you have to eat, sleep, and live the brand 24/7. Not only that, but you have to do it with a smile. Maybe Naks is guilty of not being 100% in it.
Whatever is going on, we know he won’t stick around much longer. I wonder if the WWE had tried something different or took a big risk, if they could have had ownership of one of the best sports entertainers in the world.
Keep him face
Let him win the WWE Championship
Japanese Promos
Unfortunately, we’ll never know and Nakamura is doomed to be another superstar on the list of misused talent.
Asuka is Doing Much Better
Asuka and Nakamura appeared tied to each other’s fates for the longest time, but recent events have suggested otherwise. While Asuka had been floundering and struggling to catch a whiff of main event air, one special night changed all of that.
Like the knee to Sonya Deville’s face: BOOM! Asuka is shot back into relevance.
As WWE’s TLC event approaches, the likelihood of Asuka getting a shot at redemption seems more and more likely. That redemption coming in the form of holding the SmackDown Women’s Title.
She stood tall at the end of SmackDown Live, on December 12th’s episode, and has been pushed into a believable contender to Becky Lynch’s throne.
After the match, of course we’ll know more about Asuka’s plans for the future. But the best part about this experiment is how excited the fans are about it happening. Even on the night of the battle royal, fans were chanting her name before the match was even announced.
The fans recognize her talent and (just like Becky Lynch’s big push starting at Money in the Back) aren’t afraid to let their voices be heard.
The Future for Nakamura and Asuka
Asuka could be on her way up or may find herself scrambling for a chance to fight at WrestleMania again. At the very least, the fans are supporting her on every show. If the WWE needed to put her in the main event picture, they could do it at anytime and we’d be right there with Asuka.
For Shinsuke, the fans have struggled to believe in his abilities, his style, and his promos. He really is brilliant with all three, but I’d argue it hasn’t translated well (see what I did there) to the WWE Universe.
Sure, WWE creative is to blame for most of it, but the constant “What?” chants are hard to combat. I’ve said it since he started on the main roster: The “What” chant is a clear sign of disrespect and tells a story to the viewer.
Regardless of what the WWE has tried with Nakamura, the fans did him no favors. Trying to get him over with backstage segments. Not letting him talk. Keeping it short and sweet. All of those efforts were followed by this:
As I’m sure Nakamura is as ready as ever to pack those bags and head back home, I think Asuka could be just as ready for her next big push. We’ll know all in the next few months, but what will always stick with me, when looking back, is what could have been.
What could have been, not just for Asuka and Nakamura, but for the company moving forward. Moving into a world of “Anyone Can WIn”. Bringing in more fans (of all ages, races, and cultures) because you could see yourself as the next champion. The WWE talks about being the next Disney…and gosh darn am I sick of bringing it up…but Disney is in tune with societal trends. They don’t just make changes because their ticket sales are down, they push trends into cultural norms. The WWE needs to take that hint and move into the 21st Century.
As always: The WWE needs to be better. The fans…absolutely need to be better. And, if you want me to be better, head on over to the comments section and let me know what you think!
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