At WWE Fastlane, Asuka surprised everybody by using her Women’s Royal Rumble Match privilege to challenge SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania. That doesn’t mean Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss is in the clear just yet, though. Not only did The Goddess suffer a serious burn when she mocked Asuka’s choice of title match — The Empress of Tomorrow replied she wanted to face the best Women’s Champion and chose accordingly — her apparent plan to sic Nia Jax on the undefeated Superstar backfired when The Irresistible Force didn’t answer the call.
Mickie James stepped up instead, and she got The Empress of Tomorrow impressively close to the edge of her first loss. An early cheap shot gave the six-time Women’s Champion an early advantage, and a timely dodge of Asuka’s kick sent The Empress’ shin swinging into the ring post. Mickie continued to target the leg in the hopes of exploiting the injury, but when she tried to hit higher-impact maneuvers instead, The Empress of Tomorrow had only to weather the storm and apply the Asuka Lock for the win. Which, of course, she did.