Outside of a one-off appearance by six-time WWE women's champion Mickie James at TakeOver: Toronto, there has never been a woman as accomplished as Asuka to grace an NXT ring.
It has been nearly two years since Asuka's NXT arrival, and as her streak of never being pinned or submitted reaches Goldberg-esque levels (and, according to some, already has eclipsed that mark), she continues to be an unstoppable force, cutting through all who stand before her.
What's crazy is how unlikely it was for Asuka to even make it to this point. The Empress of Tomorrow kicked off her professional wrestling career 13 years ago in Japan, but just two years after her first match, she was forced to retire from the ring as a result of chronic nephritis, which is an inflammation of the kidneys.
The book wasn't closed though. After a brief stretch dealing with her health issues, Asuka, then known as Kana, made a return to the ring in 2007 and built up quite a resume in Japan with promotions such as Pro Wrestling Wave, Pro Wrestling Zero1 and Tajiri's Smash promotion. Asuka claimed more than 10 championships throughout her time in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In 2011, Asuka graced the United States with her presence -- creating memorable moments with superstars, including current NXT Assistant Head Coach Sara Del Rey and LuFisto in Shimmer Women's Wrestling, among many others -- but it wasn't until 2015 that she signed with the WWE. From there, Asuka began her NXT career, and it's been one hell of a career thus far.
It didn't take too long for her to find her way into the NXT women's championship picture and at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in 2016, Asuka locked in her patented Asuka Lock on then-champion Bayley, who passed out -- giving Asuka the victory. That championship kick-started what has become the longest championship reign of any kind in NXT history.
There have been viable contenders placed in front of Asuka -- a rematch with Bayley, the Toronto match with James and a number of others along the way -- but it's gotten to a point where it takes multiple contenders for Asuka to even break a sweat in her NXT women's championship defenses. So with a handful of notable women potentially next in line, and a battle royal in Wednesday's NXT main event, who would be the next to get her shot?
The battle royal featured just about every name in the NXT women's division, and a handful of familiar (Rachel Evers) and new (Candice LeRae, wife of NXT superstar Johnny Gargano and an independent stalwart in her own right) non-contracted talent to fill out the match.
The first elimination came when Billie Kay and Peyton Royce teamed up to eliminate Victoria Gonzalez, and from there, the exits began to pile up. One of the more impressive eliminations saw Ruby Riot reverse an attempted power bomb to the outside by Kimber Lee into hurricanrana, disposing of Lee.
Eventually, just three women remained in the ring -- Riot, Ember Moon and Nikki Cross. The trio thrilled the audience with some close calls and fun sequences, including one that saw Moon nail Cross with her awesome Eclipse finisher. Whether she tired of waiting or sought a challenge, Asuka stormed the ring and caused enough havoc for the officials to end the match without a winner. The NXT women's champion proceeded to launch Moon out of the ring into the barricade in what appeared to be a rough landing and a very painful moment (and, while it's uncertain how severe the injury is, Moon has been spotted wearing a sling), nailed Riot with a standing spinning heel kick and hit Cross with a kick to the head.
NXT Commissioner William Regal cleared up the confusion when he came out to announce that the championship will be defended at TakeOver: Chicago in a fatal four-way match as Asuka will defend against Moon, Cross and Riot. There are multiple stories packed into this upcoming title match going in almost every direction, making it one of the more compelling NXT women's championship bouts in recent memory.
Hideo Itami's NXT championship journey continues
Itami made his long awaited return to an NXT ring two weeks ago with one purpose, declaring his intention to become the next NXT champion without saying a word.
After interrupting a promo being delivered by current champion Bobby Roode, Itami viciously slapped the "Glorious One" and knocked him out with his Go To Sleep finishing maneuver.
Last week, Roode said that Itami would have to earn an opportunity at his title, and that road to glory began this week. For the first time in over six months, Itami competed inside on an NXT broadcast. His opponent was Kona Reeves, who was looking to get back on track after a loss to Aleister Black last week.
He'll have to look for a different way to rebound. Despite being attacked by Reeves before the match started, Itami showed Reeves the proper way to rebound as he overcame the early onslaught starting with a blistering slap, similar to the one he belted Roode with last week. After a flurry of kicks, the finish saw Itami hit the Go To Sleep putting Reeves... to sleep.
.@HideoItami is NOT to be messed with! @KonaReevesWWE #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/cnPaOvOFD2
- WWE NXT (@WWENXT) May 4, 2017
In a segment that took place in Commissioner Regal's office, Regal informed Bobby Roode that next week Hideo Itami will take on Roderick Strong to determine the No. 1 contender for the NXT championship.
Heavy Machinery feasts
The NXT tag-team division suffered a significant blow when The Revival transitioned to RAW. The move created a gap that desperately needs to be filled.
Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic, known collectively as Heavy Machinery, have stepped up lately to add depth to the division. Above and beyond their size and unexpected agility, which they have in abundance, they've received ultra-positive crowd reactions to this point.
That trend continued on Wednesday night, as they took on a team probably one third their size in Ricardo Watts and Hector Kunsman. Needless to say, the match didn't last very long. Heavy Machinery picked up the win as Dozovic picked up both Watts and Kunsman in a power slam at the same time, and Knight ran the ropes to deliver a splash over Dozovic's back, essentially splattering their opponents on the mat as they picked up the victory.
Knight and Dozovic, who hadn't gotten many opportunities on the microphone, seized the opportunity after the match, In between catchy, chant-worthy quotes such as "Steaks and weights," they offered up their primary point -- "We want the Authors of Pain."
Killian Dain's path of destruction continues
For the second time in as many weeks, London native Danny Burch took to the ring, but unfortunately for him, he ran into a force of nature
Dain, who closely resembles a grizzly bear (albeit a red-haired one) has had quite a successful run so far in his time so far in NXT (including an impressive, deep run in this year's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33). Percy Watson was right when he stated that tonight, "Danny Burch has a mountain to climb." Burch tried, but Dain dominated.
Burch was able to land some strikes, but he never took the big man off his feet. Dain finished the match using his Ulster Plantation finisher, an electric chair driver similar in appearance to Kenny Omega's One Winged Angel.
Rounding out the show
Part two of the excellent and intense look inside Roderick Strong's path to NXT aired this week, focusing on his relationship with fiancée Marina Shafir, an MMA fighter and member of Ronda Rousey's 'Four Horsewomen' (which predates the NXT version). Just one week ago, the pair welcomed their first child. The rest of the second half of this documentary looked at Strong's journey from the independent circuit and Ring of Honor to NXT.