Asuka Beats Becky Lynch, Retains SmackDown Women's Title at WWE Royal Rumble

Asuka retained the SmackDown Women's Championship with a win over Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble on Sunday night.

Asuka had to dig deep to defeat Lynch, evidenced by the fact that the champion added a new wrinkle to the Asuka Lock in order to force Lynch to tap out. Asuka flipped over the back of Lynch to bridge out while maintaining her grip. Lynch had little choice but to submit.

CBSSports.com's Adam Silverstein was a big fan of the match:

Sunday marked The Empress of Tomorrow's first title defense since winning the SmackDown Women's title in a Triple Threat TLC match against The Irish Lass Kicker and Charlotte Flair at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view on December 16.

Ronda Rousey interfered in that match and cost both Lynch and Flair the win, but The Man managed to get her rematch.

Lynch beat Flair and Carmella in a Triple Threat match on SmackDown Live to become the No. 1 contender and cement a clash with Asuka at the Rumble.

Prior to Sunday, she and Lynch had never faced each other in a televised one-on-one match, which helped generate a ton of anticipation for their bout.

The Superstars also did a good job of furthering their rivalry and making their match a must-see affair because of the storytelling involved.

Two weeks before the Rumble, Lynch and Asuka set out to one-up each other when The IIconics interrupted.

After The Lass Kicker defeated Peyton Royce in a match, The Empress forced Billie Kay into a bout as well, and it ended with her opponent tapping to the Asuka Lock.

WWE did a fine job of making Lynch and Asuka look evenly matched entering the Royal Rumble, which made their match one of the toughest on the entire card to call.

Although it can be argued Lynch entered the Rumble with more momentum because of her status as perhaps the hottest act in wrestling currently, The Empress' long run of dominance prior to her loss against Flair at WrestleMania last year can't be forgotten.

Lynch and Asuka went all out in a hard-hitting affair, and later in the night The Man was able to win the women's Royal Rumble match. She too will have a marquee match at WrestleMania 35.

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