Dax Harwood compliments Asuka and Bayley.
Asuka rose to prominence in the Japanese wrestling scene before she signed with WWE in 2015. She quickly established herself as one of the top stars in NXT. She defeated Bayley, one of the brand's key members, to win the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver Dallas in 2016. She ultimately relinquished the title when she moved to the main roster in 2017. Bayley and Asuka have both enjoyed succcessful careers on WWE's main roster; both women have become Grand Slam Champions.
Speaking on FTR with Dax Harwood, the former WWE star looked back on NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II. Among other noteworthy matches, Asuka defeated Bayley to retain the NXT Women's Championship. Harwood also praised Bayley and emphasized how important she and Sasha Banks were to the evolution of NXT. He noted that their classic match at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn changed the mindset surrounding what NXT could be.
“I think that she and Mercedes were the two to change the perception of NXT. Not just the women. I think when that put that match on [at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn], and the people saw that, they were like, ‘Okay, that’s what I wanna see out of my NXT, those kind of matches. That drama, that emotion, that athleticism. That’s what I wanna see.’ So they completely changed the whole mindset of what NXT should and could be. She has the unfortunate task of trying to one-up her match from last year, and they did an incredible job. They knocked it out of the park. I think this was a rematch for Dallas because I think Bayley dropped the belt to Asuka earlier that year, so this was their rematch. It was a farewell to Bayley, but I watched the match back today, and it was so good. It showed me, she’ll probably never get the recognition she deserves for how good she is and how instrumental she is in women’s wrestling because other girls will get the shine and will get the accolades because of the moves that they perform. Guys too, not just girls. I’m just speaking specifically about the women’s roster, and the girls she was associated with because they sometimes put the move above the story. I watched this match today, and it reminded me that [Bayley] always put the story first. She always put the psychology first. It was such a great-paced match. Even at a point in the match where things might have got a little rocky, she was able to bring it back, which is not easy to do whenever you’re working with someone where English is not their first language. But she brought it back, and she’s such a great captain. She’s such a great base for professional wrestling, and she’s such a great ring general. That match reminded me how good she really is," Harwood said.
Hardwood also spoke highly of Asuka and noted that she's a one-of-a-kind talent. He also stated that she has made a remarkable splash in the United States.
“I don’t know if there’s, since maybe Muta, I could be wrong, but I don’t think that there has been another foreign talent, another Japanese star, who has made a splash over here as well as she has. She connects with the fans in America just as well as she connected with the fans in Japan. Shinsuke as well, but man, Asuka. She’s a one of a kind talent for sure," Harwood said.
Asuka was absent for several weeks, but she returned at WWE Royal Rumble. She will compete in the Women's Elimination Chamber at WWE Elimination Chamber. More information is available here.
Baykey will host "Ding Dong Hello" on the February 7 episode of WWE NXT. More information is available here.
Check out the card for this week's episode of WWE Raw here.
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