2018 Ongoing MOTY List: Nia vs. Asuka

37. Nia Jax vs. Asuka WWE Elimination Chamber 2/25

ER: I could see this match going either way, and I'm a big fan of both. Nia working as fast monster is so much fun, her twisting elbowdrop was killer, and I loved the sequence around Asuka grabbing for an ankle and Nia hoisting her into a bearhug (and running her into the buckles). Asuka is nice and tenacious and good at putting over the size difference (struggling even to lift a Nia leg for the pin cover), and Nia misses a banzai drop in the corner with tailbone shattering speed. Man she came down hard on that. Asuka doesn't roll enough to get missed by the senton, but she's cool enough that she just adds it into the match and starts selling her leg. The sudden finish kinda works and kinda doesn't, as the flash rana makes sense as Asuka kind of narrowly escaped with a win while only taking 25% of the match, but it didn't quite work for me just because I wanted a couple more minutes of match. Still, what we got was really good, Nia took a great ringpost bump to set up that finish, and the flash pin was well done. Post match rules too, as Nia wrecks a the timekeeper's barricade by using Asuka's body as a battering ram and storms out of the arena. Cool with that.

PAS: I imagine that Asuka grew up  a big 90s Joshi fan, and this feels like her working a classic Bull or Aja match. Nia Jax is really good at using her size for violence and there are moments where she really looks like she damages Asuka with big legdrops and splashes and that curb stomp look like she smushed her face. Asuka has some moments with backfist and kicks but she was mostly just trying to survive. I had no problem with the flash pin, and that post match spear through the barricade was some choice stuff.


2018 MOTY MASTER LIST