Asuka Passes NXT Milestone…Sort Of
NXT Women’s Champion Asuka became the longest reigning champion in history as the new year kicked off, according to WWE announcer Tom Phillips. Well… sort of. As of today, January 2nd, Asuka stands at 276 days, which according to WWE is enough to pass up Paige’s inaugural title run.
Here’s where it gets a little tricky. The match where Paige actually won the title was recorded a full month before it finally made air, which according to the vast majority of wrestling historians would put her title reign at 308 days. Big promotions tend to pick and choose if they want to measure reigns by match date or air date depending on what’s more convenient for them at the time. Given Paige’s somewhat controversial status with the company over the last few months, it makes a measure of sense for them to try and make that switch sooner, especially if they have plans to take the title off Asuka at this month’s NXT Takeover live special.
This really only becomes a problem if they do end up taking the title from Asuka before she hits 308 days, as it will end up with WWE saying one person is the longest reigning champion, while the history book say another is.
Matches Confirmed For This Week’s NXT
As we previously reported, this Wednesday’s edition of WWE NXT will be a two-hour special featuring matches taped on the recent NXT tour of Australia. Here’s an updated list of matches confirmed to air on Wednesday’s show from Melbourne.
- Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in a Steel Cage Match for the NXT Championship.
- DIY vs. TM61 for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
- Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan vs. Billie Kay
- Tye Dillinger & Buddy Murphy vs. Bobby Roode & Elias Samson
- Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss vs. The Revival
WWE is pushing January as a big month for new WWE Network subscribers, between this first-time-ever show, NXT Takeover: San Antonio, the Royal Rumble, and the two day WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament on January 14 and 15th.
