Asuka Must Be Alexa Bliss' Next Challenger After Retaining vs. Mickie James

Alexa Bliss was successful in her defense of the Raw Women's Championship against Mickie James at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in Minneapolis on Sunday, but her next challenge should be her biggest one yet.

Playing possum in the corner, Bliss Irish whipped James into the middle turnbuckle. That gave Bliss the opening necessary to hit her devastating DDT for the pinfall.

WWE showed Bliss having her hand raised in victory:

Bleacher Report's Dave Schilling enjoyed the match:

James Ellsworth remained unconvinced, however:

Of course, Bliss won't have long to savor her win since an unbeaten challenger waits on the horizon:

The Raw women's division was featured heavily at TLC, as in addition to Bliss taking on James, Asuka made her main roster debut against Emma.

The Empress of Tomorrow went undefeated during her time in NXT and held the NXT Women's Championship for 510 days before getting stripped of it and signed to the red brand.

She may already be the most dominant woman to ever grace a WWE ring, and now that she has her first match on the main roster under her belt, there is no reason to keep her out of the title scene.

Although a portion of the WWE audience may not be familiar with Asuka's work in NXT, she has already been heralded as a special wrestler.

That was the case at TLC, and it was undoubtedly true in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view since WWE aired several vignettes aimed at making Asuka look like the transcendent talent she is.

It isn't unheard of for top-level competitors to be thrust into the championship chase immediately, especially in the women's division.

Among the biggest examples are Gail Kim and Paige, both of whom won championships in their first official WWE matches on the main roster.

Asuka won't join that club, but those who weren't exposed to her work in NXT or Japan previously likely already have an idea of how much star potential she has after just one match.

Perhaps the biggest argument in favor of a program between Bliss and Asuka is the fact that Alexa has already mixed it up with every other woman on Raw's roster.

In addition to having singles matches against the likes of James, Sash Banks, Bayley and Nia Jax, Bliss won a Fatal 5-Way to retain the Raw Women's Championship at No Mercy.

She has often proclaimed as of late that she has beaten every challenger put in front of her, but Asuka presents a new and dangerous threat.

A rivalry with Bliss is ideal for Asuka since she is limited in her promo ability, while Alexa is among the best talkers in all of WWE in addition to being a fantastic heel.

The feud would likely result in Bliss dropping the title, but she has staying power near the top of the women's division regardless, and Asuka needs to win the title soon in order to bolster the notion that she's an unstoppable force.

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