WWE Royal Rumble 2020 highlights, takeaways and projections

Becky Lynch def. Asuka to retain RAW women’s championship

Of all the matches on this card, this one had the best build coming in and the storytelling in this RAW Women’s Championship Match between Becky Lynch and Asuka was just as good. I don’t think the match was quite as good as the one they had a year ago at this very same event, that time with the SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line, but this was still very solid. These two have so much history between them and have built such great chemistry that there was really no way that this could be a letdown…and it certainly wasn’t.

It took the crowd a few minutes to get into this one but things picked up as the match went along. This was a great back-and-forth affair that saw both women get in plenty of offense, both great strikes and submission holds. There was a big spot in the beginning with Becky slamming Asuka to the floor from the apron, which was followed by a top-rope leg drop for a good nearfall. Asuka fought back to gain the advantage and the ref nearly stopped the match (not really) because Becky couldn’t defend herself, which Lynch obviously stopped.

The ref came into play again at the end as Becky was pushed into him in the corner, distracting him, which opened the door for Asuka to spray the green mist, which has been a huge part of this storyline. However, the legendary mist didn’t work this time as Becky kicked Asuka in the midsection, which made the fluid spray right up into the air, and the champ slapped on the Disarmher for the submission victory. Great work.

What’s next: This should be the end of this program as well. Becky finally got past Asuka, who has been a thorn in her side for a long time, and she’ll now look for a new challenger for WrestleMania. I don’t think there’s any way we get Becky vs. Charlotte again so I’m still thinking we’ll somehow get the Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler matchup that so many people are craving. The build for that should be great. As for Asuka, she and Kairi Sane are still the Women’s Tag Team Champions and that should now be the focus. Let’s get some teams together to start wanting to fight for those.