paul sosnowski Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Asuka defends the WWE Smackdown Womens title. Talk about it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 A perfect opener, if you ask me. A slow but steady start that led into a pretty hot finishing stretch that didn't burn out the crowd. Perfect pacing to get the crowd nice and riled up for the night of action to come. Great finish too with Asuka bridging on the Asuka Lock. Showed a real urgency to the match that she had to adjust her arsenal to take out Becky. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShittyLittleBoots Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Pretty disappointing. They went with the competitive, back & forth structure with Asuka & Becky trying to one-up each other all the way through. Certainly wasn't the most compelling story they could've told, and went a tad bit too long too. Didn't really click with me or grab me at any point. ** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenese Sarwieh Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Slow pace to start off but things picks up with stiff shots leading to a great finish, good opener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB8 Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 This had a solid enough first five minutes and they had some nice ideas, though it felt a bit back and forth and didn't totally grab me. Asuka paintbrushing Becky and Becky looking at her like "okay we're doing this now?" was a cool moment. I'm definitely behind Becky getting the big push and think it's awesome how she's gotten herself mega over, but a bunch of her facial expressions can be pretty hokey and I think overall she's a step behind a few of the other women. Still, this picked up when she started going for the Disarm Her and I liked Asuka's sell of the arm for a while after that, especially from the armbar under the turnbuckle bolt. Asuka looked badass here, bunch of really snug strikes and she made those that missed look like she was trying to actually connect, really making Becky work for everything. She also had a few big hip attacks and took a couple nasty bumps, especially the neckbreaker/fisherman buster off the apron that both women crashed hard and awkward on. The struggles over each submission attempt towards the end looked appropriately ragged and Asuka doing a chickenwing Cattle Mutilation was a great finish. I probably wouldn't have had Becky tap clean, but I don't see it hurting her too much and if they're serious about building Asuka back up then fair fucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 Probably my second favorite match of the show. You don't see too many back-and-forth submission battles in WWE but Asuka and Becky did a really good job of it. Tons of urgency and while I don't think Becky should have submitted, extra points for the Cattle Mutilation. ****1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankensteiner Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 This is the first Becky Lynch match I've seen from her current run. The work here was pretty good with a really nice build, so it overall I'd say it was a good to very good match. However, one thing that struck me is Becky Lynch's facial expressions and mannerisms to the crowd were terrible. Edge level bad. I know it's a total modern WWE thing to sell shock at opponent's kickouts, but they really need to stop with that. It always looks terribly forced and takes me out of the match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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