The worldwide COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has changed the current landscape of sports and entertainment. With the cancellation of large gatherings, concerts and sporting events across the world, professional wrestling has survived by airing new episodes from empty arenas. The storyline buildups for what will be an unprecedented WrestleMania event have brought forth some of the best on-screen performances in the WWE as wrestlers struggle to adapt to the absence of a crowd. One silver lining to the current product has been Asuka's increased presence on WWE programming.
Long beloved by fans for her charisma behind the microphone and in-ring performance, The Empress of Tomorrow's current rise to WWE prominence may have once been written off as improbable. In an organization notorious for burying promising young talent, Asuka's remarkable 914-day undefeated streak was atypical of WWE booking.
The long-held stigma for NXT talent called up to WWE's Main Roster is one of fleeting success. The character buildup of NXT athletes is immediately discredited for the sake of archaic and formulaic booking that holds to 1980s standards of one singular, American babyface surrounding by a cast of supporting characters fighting evil in the form of monster heels. This brings yet another symptom of potential failure to light regarding Asuka; the ineptitude of WWE's creative staff to book foreign performers as anything but comedic characters, enhancement talent, or deplorable foreign heels.
Still, WWE fans have grown to love Asuka, both as a singles performer and as part of the Kabuki Warriors tag team with Kairi Sane. In NXT, it was Asuka's in-ring dominance that led to fans mockingly chanting, "Asuka's gonna kill you!" to any opponent they truly believed did not stand a chance. Asuka's unmatched charisma more than sufficed for her lack of fluency in the English language. This was exhibited most recently on the March 16th edition of Monday Night RAW when Asuka joined the broadcast team on commentary during the Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Andrade match. Asuka singlehandedly overshadowed Jerry "The King" Lawler, Tom Philips, and Byron Saxton while speaking entirely in Japanese.
Asuka's in-ring performances since WWE began taping shows in empty arenas have been remarkable. During her recent matches, Asuka has seemingly toned her usual dominant performances down for the sake of building her opponents up. Her match against Alexa Bliss on the March 27th edition of WWE Smackdown was an outstanding display of storytelling and athleticism from both performers. What may have been disappointing for fans of Asuka was her clean loss to Bliss during this match. Asuka would go on to defeat Kayden Carter in a squash match on the March 30th edition of RAW a few days later.
With a storied career spanning over two decades, Asuka has served as the torch-bearer in Japan and WWE, assuming the role of a seasoned veteran. As a ring veteran, Asuka has elevated her performance and that of her peers in a time when all performers and audiences at home need something to remind them that we still must give our absolute best efforts despite the circumstances.
As the time for Asuka to pass the torch to a new generation of performers on WWE's Women's Roster may be coming soon, her character's greatness is ascending to new heights during this time of crisis. Like her patented green mist, this greatness covers her in-ring opponents and brings the best out of them during their matches. Simply put, Asuka is seemingly incapable of putting on a bad performance with anyone on WWE's complete roster.
With empty arenas seemingly well-suited to Asuka's charisma and body language, The Empress of Tomorrow has taken the current situation and turned it into an opportunity to shine. This silver lining in light of the current state of professional wrestling gives fans at home something to cheer for while the stands are empty.