5 women WWE should build their future around
WWE is running into the same problem in 2020 that their men's division has been suffering from for the last several years: Creating new top tier main event level Superstars. It's not that they don't have the right people in place within their rosters to make this happen. They just refuse to acknowledge that they have a problem to begin with and don't want to change from the tried and true way the company has been operating on for the better part of the last two decades.
Throughout the rise of the women's division within the WWE over the last five years, the company has heavily relied on the Horsewomen of both WWE and MMA to carry the load and help move things along. But these women aren't going to be around forever. Becky Lynch is pregnant, Charlotte Flair is currently off the road, Ronda Rousey hasn't been seen since WrestleMania 35, and Sasha Banks has had a long history of injury issues. While all of these women are fantastic cornerstones of the women's division right now, they can't be relied upon to be there five or even 10 years from now.
Today, we look at five women that are currently signed by WWE who the company can rely on to help shape the future of their division for years to come.
#5 WWE wasn't truly ready for Asuka, but are they actually ready now?
Ten years ago, the thought of someone in professional wrestling ever breaking the streak that Bill Goldberg built in WCW during the late 1990s would be unheard of. Yet in 2017 it happened as Asuka completed her 510-day undefeated NXT Women's title reign, surrendering the championship and heading to the main roster for Monday Night RAW.
While it took a little bit for the Empress of Tomorrow to find her footing on the Red brand, she eventually started to come across as the same woman that we saw from NXT. She also went on to become the first-ever women's Royal Rumble winner in 2018.
From there, everything went wrong as Asuka was moved to the SmackDown brand on a collision course with Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania. It was at that point when we saw what WWE's creative team thought of Asuka as she lost her first match in the company by tapping out to Flair at WrestleMania. That Asuka is good, but she'll never be on the level as the Horsewomen.
From that point on, Asuka's WWE career has had its fair share of ups and downs on the main roster. While she has enjoyed some success at times, it never truly felt like WWE wanted to put her on the same playing field as the other main event women in the company.
In 2020 however, with half of the Horsewomen sidelined, Asuka has once again resumed her rise on the RAW roster to one of the most prominent women in the WWE. The true test will come when people like Lynch and Flair return to the WWE roster over the course of the next year. Will WWE continue to showcase Asuka as the star she's meant to be? Or will she become an afterthought once again and play second fiddle to the Horsewomen? Only time will tell.