The Big Picture

The internet loves a retirement rumor, but the locker room is not buying it. Speaking to TMZ Inside The Ring, Thekla completely shot down the idea that the Empress of Tomorrow is anywhere close to finishing her in-ring career, according to Ringside News. If Asuka is actually nearing the end of her run, she leaves behind a resume that basically no one else in the modern era can touch. Here are the ten moments that defined her unbelievable dominance in WWE.

The Rankings

10. Sole Survivor at Survivor Series (2017)

WWE had a massive problem when they brought Asuka to the main roster. They had to figure out how to keep her undefeated aura intact against the top stars of Raw and SmackDown. At Survivor Series, they solved it by just letting her destroy everyone. Down 2-on-1 against Natalya and Tamina, Asuka methodically picked them apart, securing the win for Team Raw. It was a completely dominant performance that translated her NXT booking perfectly to a stadium crowd. She looked completely untouchable.

9. The Green Mist Returns (2019)

By late 2019, Asuka's main roster run had stalled badly. Creative simply forgot about her. Teaming her with Kairi Sane felt like a throwaway idea, but at Hell in a Cell, Asuka spit the green mist into Nikki Cross's eyes to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. It was a hard heel turn that completely revived her career. The Kabuki Warriors became the best act in the women's division for months. It proved Asuka did not just rely on her undefeated gimmick; she could adapt and thrive as a villain.

8. Taking Over Brooklyn (2016)

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II was supposed to be Bayley's redemption arc. Instead, it was a brutal execution. Asuka walked in as the NXT Women's Champion and spent the entire match kicking Bayley into oblivion. The finishing sequence, ending with a vicious spin kick, was scary to watch. It firmly established that the Hugger era of NXT was over, and the era of the Empress had officially begun. The crowd was genuinely stunned into silence for a few seconds.

7. Elimination Chamber Domination (2020)

Sometimes WWE booking is overly complicated. Other times, they just let a killer off the leash. In the 2020 Elimination Chamber match, Asuka was the final entrant and proceeded to eliminate Natalya, Liv Morgan, and Shayna Baszler. Wait, that was Shayna Baszler who did that in 2020. Asuka actually won the 2020 chamber match later on? No, Asuka won the 2023 Elimination Chamber match. Let's fix that context. In the 2023 Elimination Chamber, Asuka entered last and submitted Carmella to punch her ticket to WrestleMania. She debuted a much darker, Kana-inspired persona here. The visual of her smiling through the chain-link pods while the rest of the field beat each other up was incredible television.

6. The Grand Slam Complete (2020)

During the empty-arena ThunderDome era, Asuka was the absolute MVP of the company. At SummerSlam 2020, she worked two title matches on the same night. While she lost to Bayley, she came back later in the show to tap out Sasha Banks with the Asuka Lock. Winning the Raw Women's Championship here made her the second Women's Grand Slam Champion in history. It was a masterclass in pacing, wrestling two entirely different styles in a single evening. The fact that she kept the division afloat without a live crowd is something fans still talk about.

5. TLC Main Event Madness (2018)

Wrestling in the main event of a pay-per-view against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair is a career-defining spot. Doing it in a TLC match is insane. Asuka spent most of 2018 recovering from her WrestleMania loss, but this match instantly re-legitimized her. She took some horrifying bumps, including a senton off the top rope through a table on the floor. Thanks to an assist from Ronda Rousey, Asuka pulled down the SmackDown Women's Championship. It was a chaotic, violent match that completely stole the show.

4. The WrestleMania 34 Classic

This match is deeply polarizing because of the result, but the in-ring work was flawless. Asuka walked into New Orleans undefeated, challenging Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship. They worked a vicious, technical masterpiece that heavily targeted Asuka's shoulder. The finish saw Asuka tap out to the Figure Eight. Losing the streak here was definitely a booking mistake. However, strictly as a professional wrestling match, it remains one of the best women's bouts in WrestleMania history.

3. The Royal Rumble Breakthrough (2018)

The first-ever Women's Royal Rumble needed a winner who felt legitimate. Entering at number 25, Asuka cleaned house, eventually eliminating Nikki Bella to win the match. The crowd reaction in Philadelphia was deafening. It validated everything she had done in NXT and immediately positioned her as the final boss of the main roster. The post-match segment, where Ronda Rousey debuted and pointed at the sign, unfortunately overshadowed Asuka's moment. But the victory itself was undeniably historic.

2. The Hand-Off from Becky Lynch (2020)

This was one of the most emotional moments in modern WWE history. A night after winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, Asuka came to Raw expecting a standard promo segment. Instead, Becky Lynch announced she was pregnant and revealed that the briefcase actually contained the Raw Women's Championship. Asuka's genuine, out-of-character reaction — cheering, crying, and chanting Becky's name — broke the fourth wall in the best possible way. It was a beautiful passing of the torch.

1. The 914-Day Streak

You cannot separate Asuka from the streak. From October 2015 to April 2018, she simply did not lose. It spanned 914 days and completely redefined what a dominant run looked like in the modern era. Goldberg's WCW streak was mostly squashes; Asuka's streak was built on 15-minute, high-workrate classics against Emma, Ember Moon, and Nikki Cross. She vacated the NXT Women's Championship undefeated because literally no one on the brand could beat her. It is a record that will almost certainly never be broken.

Honorable Mentions

Her savage Last Woman Standing match against Nikki Cross in NXT deserves a massive shoutout. Additionally, carrying the WWE Women's Tag Team division with Kairi Sane through a terribly booked period proved she could make chicken salad out of anything.