It got a little lost in some of WrestleMania 34’s other surprising outcomes on Sun., April 8 in New Orleans, but the decision to have Charlotte Flair retain her SmackDown’s Women’s Championship by submitting Royal Rumble winner Asuka - ending the longest undefeated streak in WWE kayfabe history - was a stunner. Maybe not quite as shocking as when Brock Lesnar ended another historic streak in the Superdome, shocking nonetheless.
There were several ways it was unexpected beyond just the outcome itself, too. That The Empress of Tomorrow tapped out, for one. And her post-match reaction, for another.
In a teary promo after her first loss in more than two years, Asuka tearfully declared Charlotte was ready for her. And in the follow-up “WrestleMania Diary” video above, she expresss gratitude for the loss.
Losing the streak certainly frees the Japanese Superstar, and WWE Creative, up to explore her character and put her in stories which focus on something else. And if you’re gonna put someone over, there’s no one bigger than The Queen.
Now we’ll see if the follow-up continues to surprise the way the result did.