Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Emma x 2

Today I have two videos for you. First is Asuka vs Emma from Sunday's TLC show. And then the rematch from last night's RAW. Based on the WWE's Asuka vignettes leading up to her debut, a lot of fans got the false impression that Asuka's debut would be a two minute squash match. Part of the problem is the WWE keeps using the word "dominant". I would not have used that word because it means different things to different people. She may have taken over Goldberg's winning streak but she is nothing like him. If you look at her NXT matches, she may have done a half dozen squash matches in two years. And I don't think the WWE would bury Emma like that anyway. What Asuka is great at is putting herself and her opponent over. After this match, there was a lot of talk about how it was the best match Emma has had on RAW. Who do you think was responsible for making her look that good? Asuka did this consistently at NXT. The match was about what I expected. Emma gets in some offense. But she just can't put Asuka away. And Asuka uses that adversity to get herself over and then wins with the Asuka Lock. It's the same formula she used at NXT. There were also complaints about Michael Cole's "Asuka is having fun" comment. Of course Vince fed him that. Corey Graves tries to sell Asuka as a serious performer. So there may be a difference of opinion of how best to put Asuka over. As Vince becomes more familiar with Asuka, he should come over to Graves' approach because it's more effective. I thought the match was fine considering that Asuka was recovering from a broken collarbone and she hadn't worked a match for two months. She looked fantastic as usual and her entrance is great. Fans make a lot of noise for her. Afterwards, Emma asked for a rematch and she got that on last night's RAW. Of course it was a lot shorter than Sunday's match. And Asuka will have to learn how to get her stuff in shorter matches on RAW. She's used to longer matches. Asuka did a brief interview last night where she said both matches were fun. I don't know what that means but I'm sure we'll find out. The one thing I recommend is if Sunday was the first time you have seen Asuka, I suggest you see some of her NXT matches especially the Last Woman Standing match vs Nikki Cross. And maybe some of her Japanese matches. The first two nights on RAW were just a taste. Asuka has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. Enjoy the videos!