Fans may see plenty of big moments at the upcoming WWE "TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2017" PPV. One of those will be the official debut on the main roster for the longest-reigning NXT Women's Champion in history, Asuka. After suffering an injury during a title defense at a pay-per-view, the NXT women's superstar handed her title over to William Regal stating that she wanted to head to the main roster for new challenges.
She'll get her first challenger as she takes on Emma at the upcoming event.
Match setup
With Emma announced weeks in advance for a debut at the WWE "TLC 2017" pay-per-view it meant she would need an opponent. "Raw" General Manager Kurt Angle booked an elimination match involving five top women's superstars from the roster. Since Alexa Bliss was already scheduled to defend her title against Mickie James, that match included Dana Brooke, Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Emma.
Emma would go on to win the match giving her the "prize" of getting to face Asuka at the pay-per-view event. It also gives Asuka her first official match on the main roster.
Previously, she ran through the women's division at NXT and held the women's championship for the longest reign in history.
Her NXT title run was a total of 510 days, although WWE gives Asuka a reign of 523 days in the history books. Her reign is more than the combined reigns of the two previous champions before her, Bayley and Sasha Banks. It's also 200 days more than the longest previous title reign held by the first official NXT champion, Paige.
Who will win?
Emma provides a great first opponent for Asuka as it won't put her into an immediate feud with one of the "bigger" stars on the "Raw" roster. It should give the former NXT Women's champ her first official win on the main roster too. She may start to slowly gain more and more wins over competitors on "Raw" including Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Nia Jax.
However, Emma will be the first one in line and is due for the loss at the PPV.
Oddsmakers agree with that outcome. At the Irish sportsbook Paddy Power, they've listed Asuka as a strong 1-25 favorite to win while Emma is considered a 17-2 underdog. That means a bet of $100 on Emma would net $850 if she happens to score a win at the pay-per-view.
That's not expected, although it's unknown how many matches these two will have between them. One has to wonder if this will be a one-off sort of clash, or they will have more of a feud heading towards the "Survivor Series 2017" pay-per-view.