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LAS VEGAS — Nia Jax was ready for Asuka. And it still wasn’t enough.
In a match where a victory would have landed Jax a guaranteed place in the Raw Women’s Title Match at WrestleMania, The Irresistible Force found herself reduced to another notch in Asuka’s ever-expanding “win” column. But given what Jax did to Asuka, it’s fair to question whether The Empress of Tomorrow will be anywhere near full strength as she marches toward a Women’s Title Match of her choosing at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Jax, to her credit, seemed entirely unimpressed with the mystique of the undefeated Superstar, stomping one of Asuka’s masks beneath her boot on the way to the ring. Jax deployed a near-flawless game plan that anticipated almost all of Asuka’s in-ring unpredictability and countered it with pure force. Even submissions — undoubtedly the cornerstone of Asuka’s own plan — proved fruitless, though they did sufficiently deplete The Irresistible Force enough to make her a step slower than she would have liked.
Asuka capitalized, evading Nia’s elbow drops and blistering her with kicks and elbows when the powerful Superstar went down to one knee. Asuka also evaded Jax’s go-big maneuver — a Banzai Bomb — and locked in an armbar after Jax missed a big corner tackle.
The Irresistible Force once again powered out of the submission, lifting Asuka into the air and ramming her into the corner. When she went to administer a powerbomb, however, The Empress of Tomorrow torqued Jax into a rollup to score the win with the last gasp of her energy. A fuming Jax didn’t hesitate to make a statement at her opponent’s expense, charging the exhausted Asuka through the barricade in a ruthless post-match beating.
Watching backstage on a monitor, Alexa Bliss could barely conceal her delight, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does she not have to worry about Jax at WrestleMania, but thanks to The Irresistible Force’s efforts, she might not have to worry about Asuka either.