One of the coolest pieces of merchandise WWE sells are the replica championship belts. Fans who want to customize their belts even further have the option of purchasing “custom side plates” for their favorite Superstars.

In what some are describing as poor timing, WWE has recently started selling custom championship side plates for Asuka. Unfortunately, the side plates didn’t go on sale until after she lost the title to Charlotte Flair last week on SmackDown Live.

And as you would expect, the timing for this decision didn’t sit well with the already angry fans and a lot of them took on their Twitter to criticize the company for this move:

As we noted before, the decision to take the belt off Asuka and put it on Charlotte Flair 2 weeks before WrestleMania was a last minute call and WWE hadn’t planned it in advance.

It’s possible these custom plates were in production long before WWE made the call and they had no choice but to try and sell the plates that they have already made.

However, the timing still strikes odd considering the fact that Asuka was champion for three months before losing the title and the company could have started promoting these plates anytime then.

There is no news yet on what WWE is planning for Asuka now that she no longer holds the title and it will be interesting to see if she gets a rematch for her Championship after WrestleMania.

While speculations are still running high on why WWE decided to put the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Charlotte Flair, we now atleast know the original WrestleMania plans for the belt.

Dave Meltzer talked about this title change in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and revealed the original WrestleMania plans for the championship.

We noted before how WWE had announced a fatal four-way #1 contenders match among Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Naomi, and Carmella for this week’s SmackDown.

And according to Meltzer, Mandy was expected to win this bout and go on to challenge the then champion Asuka for the Blue Brand’s title at the Show of Shows.

This match was obviously nixed when the company decided to put the belt on Charlotte and by the looks of it, it appears all five of these women including Asuka will now be left off of the WrestleMania card.

As we noted before, the decision to put the belt on Flair was a last minute call and the Officials only decided on the title change on the day of SmackDown.

While there is still no solid word on the reason behind it, a speculation is that the Officials are planning to close WrestleMania with a Horsewomen moment, with all four NXT Horsewomen holding a title in their hand.

This week’s episode of SmackDown saw a shocking title change as Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka to become an 8 time Women’s Champion in WWE.

After the show, both Charlotte and the former Champion Asuka, as well as ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch reacted to this surprising turn of event in their own way.

The Japanese star was the first to react, and commenting on the end of her short reign with the Blue Brand’s title, the former NXT Champion simply wrote ‘over’:

For Becky Lynch, this was another opportunity to take some shots at her arch rival, and she pointed out how Flair did nothing to earn this title opportunity in the following tweet:

Finally, the new champion herself posted a photo of her with the Women’s title and she also praised Asuka for being the most talented women she has shared a ring with:

Charlotte was also interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton where the SmackDown Star talked about her surprising victory during the show.

She took her own shot at Lynch saying that the one talking the loudest is also the one who will be walking into WrestleMania without a title:

There are speculations about WWE unifying both the Women’s Championships after this week’s SmackDown but nothing has been confirmed so far. We’ll keep you posted if any such news comes.

While the Raw Women’s Championship feud has been a highlight of WWE Programming in the past few months, the same cannot be said about it’s counterpart.

The SmackDown Women’s Championship held by Asuka hasn’t really been featured much on WWE TV and latest reports reveal that there is no solid plan for the title for the upcoming WrestleMania 35 event either.

According to reports from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, no solid plan has been laid out for the title so far and who Asuka will be facing at the show is not known.

We noted before how at one point the company was considering Lacey Evans vs. Asuka for the show, those plans, however, have been nixed since then.

Though the officials are still high on Evans and she is expected to have her first feud on the Red Branded Show instead, where she will be going up against Natalya.

Based on the current direction as seen on WWE programming, speculation is that Asuka could face Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a triple threat match at the upcoming show.

Though it’s always possible that Naomi gets involved in this feud as well and the championship bout becomes a multi-person match with even more competitors trying to take the belt away from the Japanese star.

The saying used to go, “No one is ready for Asuka.” That stopped being so true when Asuka lost to Charlotte Flair last year at WrestleMania 34. Asuka would drop the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship that night after tapping out.

WWE has struggled to recapture the mystique and dominance that Asuka once so easily exuded. “The Empress Of Tomorrow” has gone on to lose against a number of different women including Carmella and Mandy Rose.

“The Ball Was Dropped There”

During a recent episode of his podcast, The Jim Ross Report, JR would share his thoughts on this Asuka conundrum, highlighting WWE’s “mismanagement” of her since the ‘Mania loss.

“It has been mismanagement [of Asuka],” Ross confirmed. “I thought Asuka…the ball was dropped last year at WrestleMania after she lost her undefeated streak to Charlotte. They had a great match,” he admitted.

“Anybody that watches that match and tells me it wasn’t any good doesn’t know anything about [pro] wrestling. I think the ball was dropped there. It [has] been hard to get the momentum back going.”

“There’s A Place For Another Major Star”

Ross would go on to express his frustrations over WWE’s handling of Asuka since then, believing she could be another “major star” for the company.

“But man, as many people are tuning into the female elements of creative storytelling on RAW and SmackDown, for example, you’ve got to believe that there’s a place for another major star and I think Asuka’s it,” Ross declared. “I think she [has] been grossly under-utilized. Maybe that’ll change.”

Asuka recently retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Mandy Rose at WWE’s recent Fastlane event. With their annual extravaganza event just around the corner, however, Asuka is still without an opponent for WrestleMania 35 — despite Lana’s declaration that she would be facing her.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Asuka will remain at the top of the women’s division on the blue branded main roster WWE show.

She successfully retained the Women’s SmackDown Title over Mandy Rose at the Fastlane pay-per-view event that was broadcasted to the world on the WWE Network by submission.

There's no chance @WWEAsuka is letting her #WomensTitle go without a FIGHT at #WWEFastlane! @WWE_MandyRose pic.twitter.com/YRmJ1otDyc

— WWE (@WWE) March 10, 2019

Those ropes could very well be the 🔑 to @WWE_MandyRose's survival tonight. #WWEFastlane pic.twitter.com/VUQhr3Qiy1

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) March 10, 2019

It will be interesting to see who will next be in line for an opportunity to challenge Asuka for the strap at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, April 7, 2019 in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium.

There has been a lot of talk online that WWE could be booking several multiple stars in matches and we could get just that involving the SmackDown Women’s Title.

Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in San Antonio, Texas on September 16, 2018 to win the title, which marked her second reign as champion.

However, she lost it in December at the TLC pay-per-view from San Jose, California when the former NXT Women’s Champion beat Lynch and Flair in the first ever Women’s TLC Match.

• WWE Fastlane 2019 Results & Live Coverage

What are your thoughts on Asuka retaining the title? Was it the right time to do this by WWE? Sound off in the comment section.

Mandy Rose challenges Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship this Sunday at WWE Fastlane. The two women have been wrestling each other at WWE live events in the lead-up to their pay-per-view battle.

Their match this past Monday from White Plains, NY ended abruptly after Asuka landed on her head and was helped to the back by WWE officials. It was a scary moment, but luckily Asuka was was fine and assured fans the incident did not result in a concussion or neck injury.

It is neither a concussion nor a neck.

— ASUKA / ??? (@WWEAsuka) March 5, 2019

Mandy Rose appeared on the Pro Wrestling Show podcast this week to hype Fastlane and commented on Rose commented on Asuka’s injury scare from Monday.

“I was in my hometown last night, it was really great to be home,” she said. “I had about 30 people – friends and family – there that were all front row. I had all my nieces and nephews and it was really amazing to have them all there. Of course, not everything always goes according to plan and accidents happen.”

Rose continued, “So, unfortunately, there was a little accident and we took the proper precautions and thankfully, Asuka is fine and she’s doing OK. You know, stuff happens. You can’t dwell on it, you just gotta move on.”

Also during the interview, Mandy Rose discussed Paige and Charlotte Flair being big influences on her career. Visit Acast.com to hear the full interview.

https://twitter.com/DanHevia/status/1102758583496773634

SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka took a nasty bump at a live event Monday night in White Plains, NY at the Westchester County Center.

During a match against Mandy Rose, Asuka was dropped on her head. Fans in attendance noted on social media that the spot happened when Asuka tucked her head towards the end out of a reverse flapjack.

As a result, the match was ruled a no contest. Rose stayed in character and grabbed the title then walked to the back. In the meantime, WWE doctors checked on Asuka at ringside and then she was assisted to the backstage area.

Move was almost a reverse flapjack and Asuka tucked her head toward the end out of nowhere. Real scary. #WWEWhitePlains

— 𝙳𝚊𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚊 (@DanHevia) March 5, 2019

Asuka provided an update on the situation later in the night. She told fans on Twitter that she hit her back, but it was neither a concussion nor a neck [injury.]

I'm sorry for worrying you.
Hit my back but That's fine 🤡

— ASUKA / 明日華 (@WWEAsuka) March 5, 2019

It is neither a concussion nor a neck.

— ASUKA / 明日華 (@WWEAsuka) March 5, 2019

Asuka is scheduled to defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Mandy Rose this Sunday at WWE Fastlane from Cleveland, Ohio.

Defeating Asuka in a singles match on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live has earned Mandy Rose a SmackDown Women’s Championship match at Fastlane.

Asuka made her return to the Blue Branded Show after several weeks of absence to face the ‘God’s Greatest Creation’ Rose in a one on one bout last week.

The match went on for a while. It ended when Asuka hit her opponent with a knee and Mandy started selling that the Champion had poked her eye.

This caused the competition to be halted for the moment and cashing in on the opportunity, Mandy Rose pinned the SmackDown Women’s titleholder via a roll up.

While both these stars didn’t appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, The former Absolution member was interviewed backstage after the show was over:

EXCLUSIVE: @WWE_MandyRose did pin @WWEAsuka last week on #SDLive, and if she does it again at #WWEFastlane, she'll be the NEW SmackDown #WomensChampion! pic.twitter.com/yNytVAAjxE

— WWE (@WWE) February 27, 2019

In the interview, she revealed that her non-title victory has earned her the right to challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the upcoming Fastlane PPV. After the announcement, here is the updated match card for the show:

Fastlane Updated Match Card

WWE Championship: Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kevin Owens:

SmackDown Tag Team Championship:The Usos vs. The Miz & Shane McMahon

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Mandy Rose

Women’s Tag Team Championship: Boss ‘N Hug Connection vs. Nia Jax & Tamina

Nikki Cross has made her intentions known towards WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka through the power of Twitter.

Cross recently tweeted, “Hehe remember this Asuka?!?! Naughty Nikki is looking for a new toy?!? But shhhhhh keep it a secret! Hide and seek!!! Hehe ok I come find you PEEKABOO!”

WWE teased fans who should be in line for a SmackDown Women’s Championship next as they shared this post on Twitter with Lacey Evans, Naomi, Carmella, Mandy Rose, and Nikki Cross listed.

Which one of these Superstars do YOU think is ready for @WWEAsuka? pic.twitter.com/ReK2cdGhow

— WWE (@WWE) February 23, 2019

Over the past week, there have been rumors that Charlotte Flair was originally slated to be Asuka’s opponent WrestleMania 35. This would’ve served as a rematch from WrestleMania 34 in 2018 where Flair broke Asuka’s undefeated streak to retain the SmackDown Women’s Title.

Plans changed as Flair has since been added to the RAW Women’s Championship Match against Ronda Rousey. The belief is that Becky Lynch will be added to the contest to make it a Triple Threat Match.

Dave Meltzer recently reported that Asuka’s opponent at WrestleMania 35 was once slated to be against Lacey Evans. It’s possible that WWE books Cross against Asuka at the next pay-per-view event.

WWE presents the Fastlane event on March 10, 2019 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.

RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania 35 match is set. With only one more PPV on the way to ‘Mania, the same can’t be said for SmackDown Women’s Champion, Asuka.

Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com recently discussed this situation. He spoke on the status of a match and an opponent for “The Empress Of Tomorrow.” Meltzer highlighted Lacey Evans as an opponent before adding that this plan was, apparently, being “reconsidered.”

“As far as Asuka goes, I mentioned the thing with Lacey Evans last night. There actually was talk of Asuka and Lacey Evans being the WrestleMania match, and it was definitely on the books at one point,” he explained. “But I was led to believe that it was being reconsidered and that it was not a 100 per cent ‘no’ and it could happen, but it was actually on the books and the point is that it’s not a 100 per cent ‘yes,’ and it may be more than likely ‘no.’ I wasn’t given an opponent for Asuka yet. I don’t think they have one.”

With Lacey Evans an unconfirmed then, Asuka still finds herself without a match.

It’s worth noting that Asuka did lose a match to Mandy Rose last night on SmackDown Live. This was due to a distraction from Lacey that Rose capitalized on. This could, in theory, set up Asuka vs Mandy Rose at Fastlane, and then Asuka against Evans at WrestleMania.

The women’s division was put on the forefront as the dark main event after Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live and 205 Live episodes went off the air in Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.

This event wrapped up a four day stretch of WWE shows in the city that included NXT TakeOver: Phoenix on Saturday night, Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday, and Monday Night Raw.

SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka retained her title over Charlotte Flair once Charlotte tapped to the Asuka Lock for the finish. It should be noted that the top star in the women’s division on the blue branded show didn’t appear on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live on the USA Network.

Asuka was last seen on WWE programming when she successfully retained the SmackDown Women’s Title over Becky Lynch in the opening match of Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.

On the flip side, Flair did appear on the show as she was featured in the opening segment with Lynch, which saw them have a brawl.

As of this writing, WWE has yet to announce Asuka’s next challenger and opponent for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on February 17, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Asuka will remain at the top of the women’s division on the blue branded main roster WWE show.

She successfully retained the Women’s SmackDown Title over former champion Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event that was broadcasted to the world on the WWE Network by submission.

STILL THE EMPRESS of #SDLive.@WWEAsuka just made @BeckyLynchWWE TAP OUT to kick off #RoyalRumble! pic.twitter.com/uRqGaUGRIa

— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019

CRASH AND BURN…ALL for the sake of walking out #SDLive #WomensChampion!#RoyalRumble @WWEAsuka @BeckyLynchWWE pic.twitter.com/IYhFSWwdep

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 28, 2019

#AsukaLock on the ropes? #DisArmHer within the turnbuckles?

Serious damage is being done as @WWEAsuka & @BeckyLynchWWE clash for the #SmackDown #WomensTitle! #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/odiyVBLOOL

— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019

😱 SUPER BEXPLODER 😱#RoyalRumble @BeckyLynchWWE pic.twitter.com/YrrAQ6G0cM

— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2019

Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in San Antonio, Texas on September 16, 2018 to win the title, which marked her second reign as champion. However, she lost it just last month at the TLC pay-per-view from San Jose, California when the former NXT Women’s Champion beat Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the first ever Women’s TLC Match

It will be interesting to see who will next be in line for an opportunity to challenge Asuka for the strap at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event takes place on February 17, 2019 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

What are your thoughts on Asuka retaining the title and this title change? Was it the right time to do this by WWE? Sound off in the comment section.

Following Tuesday’s SmackDown Live and 205 Live tapings, WWE Champion Daniel Bryan defended his title against AJ Styles in a dark match. Bryan wound up retaining his title over “The Phenomenal One” via disqualification. However, after the match, Bryan cut a heel promo on the Alabama crowd.

Bryan poked fun at their college football team for losing the National Championship game to Clemson in a blowout. Styles then came back and attacked Bryan before celebrating with a young fan. He then did an impersonation of WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Styles asked the crowd if they want to see him hit Bryan with a Phenomenal Forearm, then give him a “Hell Yeah.”

After the crowd chanted “Hell Yeah” Styles hit Bryan with the elbow. He then mimicked Austin’s beer drinking celebration with water bottles.

Check out the video of AJ Styles paying homage to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin:

https://twitter.com/R_Discussion/status/1085543320045191169

There is a new #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Title and that’s Becky Lynch. During this week’s episode of blue branded show, Lynch beat Charlotte Flair and Carmella in a triple threat match in order to become the new #1 contender for the strap.

Now, Lynch will challenge Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Title at the upcoming Royal Rumble event.

WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE Royal Rumble Card

WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles

30-Man Royal Rumble Match: R-Truth, Drew McIntyre, The New Day, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Samoa Joe, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Elias, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Andrade Almas, Rey Mysterio, Mustafa Ali

30-Woman Royal Rumble Match: Carmella, Natalya, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Zelina Vega

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. Akira Tozawa vs. TBA – Fatal 4-Way Match

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

Asuka Botches Move At WWE Event (Video)

Mistakes in the ring happen and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka found that out while competing in a triple threat match against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair at a recent live event in Tampa. She went to jump off Flair’s back to dive onto Lynch when she slipped as seen here:

#Asuka botch from #WWE show in Tampa. #BeckyLynch #CharlotteFlair @WWEAsuka @BeckyLynchWWE @MsCharlotteWWE @Maffewgregg #WWERAW #SDLive #BotchMania #Ouch #MMA #UFC #WomensWrestling #TheMan #Oops #Wrestling @WrestleBotch pic.twitter.com/TdNo0TwBdJ

— DIVA INSIDER (@DivaInsider) January 1, 2019

WWE Tampa, Florida Results

• SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar retained over The Usos and The New Day in a Triple Threat
• Titus O’Neil defeated Killian Dain with a Clash of the Titus
• Mustafa Ali defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas with the 054.
• Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe
• John Cena defeated The Miz.
• Lana and Naomi defeated Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.
• WWE United States Champion Rusev retained over Shinsuke Nakamura
• SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka retained over Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair when Flair tapped out to the Asuka Lock
• WWE Champion Daniel Bryan retained over AJ Styles in a Steel Cage match.
• Although WWE announced then retracted their announcement about Asuka defending the title against Lynch at the Royal Rumble PPV event, this match is expected to still take place at the show.

Buddy Murphy On His 2018

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy took some time to take to his official Twitter account where he reflected on his year in the WWE and how being on 205 Live changed his career. He posted the following:

#2018 ends, #2019 begins! My thoughts! pic.twitter.com/Fu2o4upE74

— Buddy “Bloody” Matthews (@SNM_Buddy) December 31, 2018

Despite having prematurely announced a match for the WWE SmackDown Women’s championship at the Royal Rumble during Main Event, it appears that those plans may not be entirely off the table.

According to Dave Meltzer, WWE is going to have a number of meetings this week in order to “come up with a Rumble card.”

“Originally, the match [Asuka vs Lynch] was happening, but then Vince decided that he wanted to revamp the card […] when they taped Main Event it was gonna air later in the week,” he explained.

“At that time, the plan was to announce the match with Asuka and Becky Lynch on Tuesday’s SmackDown but, during that interim period, Vince decided to change his mind,” he said. “So they never announced that match on that SmackDown. Not saying that match won’t happen, but it was definitely off when that show came on.”

So it appears that the Main Event announcement for the hotly anticipated opportunity for Lynch to compete for her former title was due to a lapse of internal communication, coupled with understandable confusion stemming from a last-minute change of heart.

The fact that WWE is still holding meetings in order to finalize the Rumble card, however, means there could still be a (slim) chance the match goes ahead.

What do you think? Would you prefer to see this matchup for the championship? Do you think Becky Lynch will win the Rumble?

Ronda Rousey recently held a Q&A on her YouTube channel. The RAW Women’s Champion discussed a number of topics with the main highlight being her intervention in the TLC Main Event. Rousey interfered and cost Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch the match, leaving Asuka to climb the ladder and grab the Smackdown Women’s Championship.

Rousey said that “I have a lot of respect for Asuka and I’ve always have. I didn’t really want to rain on her parade at the Royal Rumble. I just wanted to come out and congratulate her and bring more eyes to her incredible moment. She didn’t seem too thrilled about that.” Rousey then turned her attention to Lynch and Flair, stating that “At TLC, both Charlotte and Becky are a bunch of cheaters, they had it coming to them. I don’t have to explain my actions to anybody. I was completely justified by my actions.” Ronda elaborated further, saying that “Payback is a b—- and Askua deserves to be champion more than either of them. She’s never had to cheat. She never had to walk out of a match because she was losing. She’s just the best and now she’s the champ.”

You can check out the full Q&A below.

Credit to Ronda Rousey and H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Despite the match being announced on a recent episode of Main Event, Asuka vs Becky Lynch is not confirmed for the Royal Rumble. Former Smackdown General Manager, Paige, Tweeted that she made the match before she was relieved of her position and that the match is not official.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1076219918637395968?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

“Soooo I tried to make one last match before my time as #SDLive GM came to end…but unfortunately @BeckyLynchWWE vs. @WWEAsuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship is NOT official for #RoyalRumble. #Oops”

Paige’s statements do leave the door open for the match still taking place, however, only the match is not official. It’s not clear what led to the match being announced and then later retracted.

Royal Rumble 2019

Three matches are confirmed so far for the Royal Rumble PPV this year. Braun Strowman will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. There will also be the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches with R-Truth and Carmella having earned the 30th entrant in their respective Rumbles.

Royal Rumble 2019 is scheduled for January 27th, 2019 from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

John Cena Praises Becky Lynch

John Cena offered up some praise for Lynch earlier.

“I love any instance where people feel comfortable enough with self to be expressive,” Cena said of Lunch. “For so long I didn’t know what or who Becky Lynch was. And now I do. And that fires me up.”

Becky Lynch will challenge Asuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble. In peculiar fashion, WWE announced the match during an episode of Main Event. The syndicated show is filmed before RAW and rarely broadcasts much of any significance.

The announcement was made after a recap of Asuka vs Naomi from Smackdown was played on the show.

Becky Lynch vs Asuka – Royal Rumble 2019

Asuka and Becky Lynch have never faced each other in single’s competition on WWE programming. When house shows are factored in, however, the Rumble will be their second single’s match. Asuka successfully defended the NXT Championship against Lynch at a WWE house show in Japan on July 2nd, 2016.

They’ve twice been on opposing sides of each other on WWE programming, however. The first time was the 2017 Royal Rumble, which Asuka won, and the second was Sunday’s TLC triple threat match which again was won by Asuka and also involved Charlotte Flair.

Royal Rumble 2019

Lynch facing Asuka at the Rumble throws a wrench in the idea that Lynch would enter the Rumble match itself in order to win and face Ronda. Though, if WWE does want to do Becky vs Ronda in the main event of WrestleMania, there are several avenues they can take to get there.

WWE Stars Getting Married This Weekend

This weekend (Fri. December 21, 2018) WWE Superstars Sarah Logan and Raymond Rowe will be getting married. The couple announced their wedding date earlier this year back in May. Logan is one-third of The Riott Squad on Monday Night RAW. As for Rowe, he’s one-half of the NXT Tag Team War Machine.

The couple got engaged back in October of 2017. Earlier this week Raymond took to Twitter to voice his excitement for the big day this weekend:

“I’m going to marry this beautiful, wild, wonderful girl in seven days.”

I'm going to marry this beautiful, wild, wonderful girl in seven days. #VikingWedding #Dec21 #TeamRowe @sarahloganwwe pic.twitter.com/e8bOjvpRGS

— Erik (@Erik_WWE) December 14, 2018

Asuka Receives Custom Title Plates (Photo)

Over the weekend (Sun. December 16, 2018) Asuka captured her first title on the WWE’s main roster. Thanks to some assistance from RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Asuka won the SmackDown Live Women’s Title.

She defeated defending champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in the first-ever Women’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match. The three main evented the TLC pay-per-view (PPV) and put on, arguably, the best match of the night.

The following Tuesday on SmackDown Live, Asuka defended her title successfully against Naomi after a match made by Vince McMahon. Shortly after, Asuka took to her Twitter to share a photo showing off her new custom title plates. Check it out here:

“It’s mine”

It’s mine ? pic.twitter.com/NHzrKVKUns

— ASUKA / ??? (@WWEAsuka) December 20, 2018

Asuka became the new Smackdown Women’s Champion on Sunday night. She climbed the ladder at TLC and secured the title after Ronda Rousey had tipped both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch off another ladder.

The win was covered by the famed Japanese media outlet, Tokyo Sports. Asuka would later speak to the media outlet directly about her victory.

Translations are cleaned up versions of what Google Translate provided.

“I finally arrived,” Asuka told Tokyo Sports. “After I finished the match, many people were clapping for us in the back.”

Asuka would continue to say that Vince McMahon complimented the match, hugged her, and said he was “really happy”. The article also brought up how Asuka surpassed Goldberg’s undefeated streak during her time in NXT.

Asuka told the media outlet that Ronda Rousey’s interference on Sunday did not change the outcome of the match. “I think the result would not have changed even if there would not have been interference from Ronda,” Asuka said confidently. “Why did I take the belt? Because I’m Asuka!”

Asuka Says She Wants To Defend Title At WrestleMania

She would continue to tell Tokyo Sports that she wants to defend her title at WrestleMania in April. Asuka is hoping she gets a chance to face Ronda Rousey at the event.

Finally, Asuka would say the reason she came to WWE is to help elevate the women’s divisions, something which has indisputably happened in recent months.

“The reason why I came to WWE is raising the quality of the girls,” Google Translate estimated Asuka’s comments as. “That is my mission.”

Naomi Is Thankful To Asuka

Last night’s SmackDown Live saw from Fresno, California witnessed current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Asuka successfully defend her title against Naomi. This was he first title defense since winning the title from Becky Lynch in the triple-threat Tables, Ladders and Chair match on Sunday’s TLC pay-per-view event.

After her loss to Asuka, Naomi was interviewed by Mike Rome where he asked her how she is going to use this opportunity for her future success, this is what she said:

“You know what? SmackDown is the land of opportunity and I saw an opportunity tonight and I took it. Asuka is my friend and to me Asuka is one of the best. As well as Becky, and Charlotte. But I am just as good as those women, and I wanna be in the conversation, I wanna be there in those matches and I am not sitting in the back anymore, whenever I see an opportunity, from here on out I am gonna do what I gotta do, and I am gonna take it. And this doesn’t change anything between me and Asuka and our friendship. It’s all about love and respect and she gave me an amazing match tonight, and I am thankful and I learned a lot and this won’t be my last shot at the title, I can guarantee you that.”

• 5 Takeaways From WWE SmackDown (12/18)

Mustafa Ali Now Now Part Of SmackDown Roster

Mustafa Ali made his début on SmackDown on the 11 December edition of SmackDown where he faced Daniel Bryan and earned praise for his performance.

On this week’s episode, Ali returned again and was in a tag-team match with AJ Styles as he defeated the team of Daniel Bryan and Andrade “Cien” Almas by pinning Bryan.

It was unknown at the time if these were just one-off performances from the star or if he is going to make the shift to the Blue Brand. But now, his WWE Superstar profile has been moved to the SmackDown Live roster so it’s pretty much official that he is now a member of SDLive.

WWE has confirmed a segment for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. It will be the blue brand’s first show since this past weekend’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV). At the event, Asuka captured the SDL Women’s Title from Becky Lynch. “The Empress Of Tomorrow” won the first-ever Women’s TLC match against Lynch and Charlotte Flair.

Their bout main evented the PPV. Towards the end of the match, RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey came out to the ring and tipped over a ladder holding Lynch and Flair. This was likely in retaliation for Flair beating down Rousey after their match at Survivor Series. Rousey has also been bickering with Lynch on social media for the past several weeks. The interference allowed Asuka to climb the ladder and retrieve the SDL Women’s Title.

Now, Asuka will have a “coronation” segment on tonight’s episode of SDL to celebrate her victory. WWE made the announcement official on their Twitter page earlier this morning:

“Witness the CORONATION of @WWEAsuka TOMORROW NIGHT on #SDLive as #WWEHolidayWeek continues at 8/7c on @USA_Network!”

Witness the CORONATION of @WWEAsuka TOMORROW NIGHT on #SDLive as #WWEHolidayWeek continues at 8/7c on @USA_Network! pic.twitter.com/90aJPQqmtG

— WWE (@WWE) December 18, 2018

It’s likely that Flair and Lynch also address Rousey’s interference in their match over the weekend as well. A match involving the three has been rumored for quite some time now, and could happen as soon as WrestleMania 35 in New Jersey.

What did you think of Asuka’s SDL Women’s Title win over the weekend?

Tonight’s episode of Smackdown will emanate from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Smackdown is under new management as well. Last night on Raw, the McMahon family announced they will be taking control of both Raw and Smackdown.

Smackdown General Manager, Paige, reacted to the news:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/1074836778245214209

Smackdown 12/18 Preview

Asuka’s Reign Begins

On Sunday, Asuka climbed the ladder and grabbed the Smackdown Women’s Championship title. Tonight on Smackdown, the era of Asuka begins. Will there be someone from the Smackdown women’s division who wants to end her title reign quickly, however? We could find out more about what is in store for Asuka and her title reign as we head towards the Royal Rumble tonight.

Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair Respond To Ronda Rousey’s Actions On Sunday

Ronda Rousey cost both Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair the Smackdown Women’s title on Sunday. While it’s not yet clear what will be in store for that two former friends as WWE heads into the Royal Rumble, tonight both will respond to Rousey’s actions from Sunday.

Will Daniel Bryan Introduce A New Strap For The WWE Championship?

Daniel Bryan promised that if he could defeat AJ styles at TLC on Sunday that he would replace the strap on the WWE championship. According to Bryan, he wants to introduce a new sustainable strap. Bryan evidently realized on Sunday the strap for the title is made of leather and leather comes from cows which create methane and contribute to global warming when mass-bred through factory farming.

Will Bryan follow through on his promise? If so, what will the strap be made out of? Will he mistakenly refer to it as a belt? We could find out the answers to these questions tonight on Smackdown.

Who Will Be Next For The Bar?

The Bar defeated arguably two of the best teams in WWE history on Sunday. In a triple threat match, they defeated both New Day and the Usos. Just like that, new title contenders will need to be determined in the Smackdown tag team division. We could find out tonight what is next in store for Sheamus and Cesaro tonight.