Sometimes I wonder if my posts are too long, mostly on account of me rambling about something in the long form that sets up what I’m actually intending on writing about, and then five paragraphs later, I really actually get to the point of the impetus for writing in the first place.
That being said, I’ll keep it short about how much I cringed like OJ Simpson in court, when fucking Otis won the men’s Money in the Bank briefcase. Sure, I’ll give the WWE a little bit of credit for actually taking a stab at some pure unpredictability, but based on the lineup of contenders, Otis had to have been the one guy that nobody and their mothers from their basements would have actually considered winning MITB, but here we stand.
Needless to say, I’m disappointed that fucking Otis is going to be the get-out-of-jail-free card for WWE Creative for the next calendar year, and I have to assume that he’ll end up like Damien Sandow or Baron Corbin, as dudes who will inevitably have failed to successfully cash in their championship opportunities; or, they’ll go very radically, and have Otis cash it in on tag titles, or do some revisionist history to where he can cash it on any brand and any title, which might actually make it a little more interesting.
Anyway, the point of this post wasn’t to talk about fucking Otis, but to applaud the WWE for their choice to get back on the Asuka train and actually give her a god damn push. She went from being one of the hottest talents in the company with an undefeated streak that eclipsed Bill Goldberg, but once the streak came to an end against Charlotte Flair, she was dropped down to the mid-card faster than television ratings during an X-Pac match. Sure, she had a Smackdown women’s championship in this time, but again was jobbed out to Charlotte Flair, and relegated to tag duties, which she actually spun gold from shit, with Kairi Sane and their cringeworthy Kabuki Warriors name.
Regardless, I was excited to see Asuka win the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase, but before I could even write about it, the following night on RAW occurred, where Becky Lynch announced her pregnancy to the world, and relinquished the RAW women’s championship over to Asuka, for winning the MITB contest.
Now it’s no secret WWE loves to build their company on “moments,” and it was widely reported that absolutely nobody other than Lynch, Seth Rollins (the father) and only a few key creative bigwigs knew about it, and not even Asuka was informed before the segment, so it’s safe to say that Becky’s announcement and the bequeathing of the RAW women’s championship over to Asuka was an entirely unscripted and about as genuinely real moment as one could see in professional wrestling.
Obviously, I’m happy for Becky Lynch and I’m ecstatic for Asuka to be given a championship that she very much deserves, but at the same time, I’m a little disappointed that the MITB contract has already been taken off the table. MITB is one of the few time bombs that the WWE can have in their pockets when it’s in play, and there are fewer more exciting occasions than when Creative decides to pull the trigger on the plot device, and although Asuka is now a women’s champion, I would’ve really blown my top if when in like, several months later, Becky Lynch or whomever is the RAW women’s champion at the time, has just finished a grueling match, only for Asuka’s music to hit, and the crowd goes nuts at the unpredictability of the moment.
But we’re not going to get that anymore, which makes me a little disappointed. Doubly, considering the men’s side is represented by fucking Otis of all people.
Regardless, I’m glad to see Asuka get the respect that she so rightfully has earned, and I can only hope that her title reign isn’t going to be a transitional one. Most fans share the sentiment that the RAW titles are more prestigious than the Smackdown ones, so as far as most casual fans go, Asuka is the top of the food chain in women’s wrestling now, although I highly anticipate a program coming up very soon between Asuka and the one woman she can’t seem to beat, Charlotte FIair, who’s repping the NXT women’s championship in the meantime.
Finally though, WWE Creative was ready for Asuka. Hopefully they’ll do right by this push.
