WWE Hot Take: Asuka Beating Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair at TLC Must Happen

The swerve is too good to pass up. 

It isn't often a perfect sequence of events happens for WWE. But there is one right in front of the company if the upcoming WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view sees Asuka come out of a Triple Threat match with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch clutching the SmackDown Women's Title. 

Don't worry—Lynch and Rousey should still main-event WrestleMania 35. But having Asuka emerge the winner at TLC not only pushes everything in this direction, it helps bring one of the company's top performers right back into the limelight. 

Because let's be honest, like Nia Jax's irresponsible botch that injured Lynch in the first place, WWE bungled Asuka's character after coming up from NXT. There have been bright spots, but the resounding thud of her streak ending for no real reason and the purgatory she's been in for months has been one of the more egregious examples of the company wasting quality talent. 

But here is a rare example of WWE being able to atone for its mistakes in a way only it can—with a swerve. Asuka won a Battle Royal on SmackDown after the rest of the blue brand's female competitors protested Flair and Lynch getting to go at it again. The Empress of Tomorrow was the obvious winner of the match but is otherwise viewed as an afterthought. 

Which makes sense, right? Asuka doesn't have major beef with either character, whereas Lynch vs. Flair remains engaging even after the odd shakeup thanks to the former's injury. Best-case scenario, The Empress is just there to soak up some hits in what could be a violent match because Lynch is fresh off the inactive list after a concussion and facial damage. 

It can be both, though. Asuka can be the workhorse for the match while helping along Lynch and furthering everyone at once. If the Japanese Superstar pulls off a win, she's suddenly back in the main event scene instead of twiddling her fingers in the middle of the roster. Her holding the title means more main event work for up-and-coming talents such as Sonya Deville. 

Meanwhile, Lynch dropping the title is a smooth way to keep her hot with crowds. Before the injury, she was easily the biggest thing going in the company and on a fast track to likely hold one of the last three matches at WrestleMania 35, if not main-event the whole thing. But with her disappearing for a stretch, keeping her hot until the biggest event of the year became an even bigger task. 

The chase is always the way to keep a beloved talent hot and should work like a charm with Lynch. And if she retains, she cools off while battling a mostly developmental crew beneath her on the blue brand. 

How does this sound? Becky Lynch, Royal Rumble winner. Regardless of what anyone else does, her gunning for Rousey like that keeps the fire alive, if not fans the flames. 

Flair isn't hurting for a title run either. Her recent character alteration, highlighted by the amazing work while dismantling Rousey in place of Lynch at Survivor Series, is in a great spot. In fact, maybe the best one she's been in for years.

Another Flair-Rousey bout is a must, though pairing her crazy persona against the unpredictable nature of Asuka should be fun on the blue brand, too. 

It all boils back to a Lynch-Rousey encounter, if not with Flair added into the mix. The three haven't just earned it, the matchup might be the most anticipated one out of any possible WrestleMania encounter at this point. 

Asuka is the one who needs a win the most, which might explain her addition to the TLC fray. SmackDown hasn't been afraid to build up midcard talents like Jinder Mahal and Carmella lately, so getting a do-over on the Asuka run and getting a chance to craft a new star is a bonus.

If the play-calling is right at TLC, Asuka will brilliantly swipe the title from two of the hottest names in the company right now while also preventing either from looking bad in the process.

Viewed through a long-term lens, TLC could end up looking like a relaunching point for all three, the destination fittingly a WrestleMania 35 that has looked like an exclamation-point ending for women's wrestling in WWE for a long time now as it is. 

A month or so ago, Asuka didn't figure to play a role in this at all. Now she's a central point from which the success of all three and perhaps more could stem from if WWE plays it right. 

Maybe The Empress of Tomorrow knew all along.