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Asuka Climbs the WWE HQ, Wins 2020 Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match
May 11, 2020
Asuka won the women's ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday, meaning she can cash in her contract for a championship match at any time in the next year.
The Empress of Tomorrow fended off Lacey Evans and Nia Jax and also had to dispatch Baron Corbin, who was simultaneously attempting to collect the men's briefcase.
Asuka beat out Evans, Jax, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke and Carmella in a unique spin on the Money in the Bank ladder match that saw everyone start at the ground floor of WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, before fighting their way to the roof.
WWE made the decision to book the never-before-seen match when it was determined that Money in the Bank could not be held in Baltimore with fans in attendance as scheduled due to COVID-19.
Instead, the women's and men's ladder matches were held simultaneously in Stamford and the other bouts on the bill took place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The women's match match featured a stack field with several former women's champions (Asuka, Jax and Carmella) and others who are searching for a first title on the main roster (Baszler, Evans and Brooke).
All of the aforementioned Superstars qualified for the bout, which allowed each of them to enter the pay-per-view with a certain amount of momentum on their side.
That was especially true for the Raw Superstars based on the way they have been built up. Baszler and Jax have both been booked to be dominant forces on the red brand, while Asuka was impressive in beating Ruby Riott to qualify for the tournament.
Given Raw's star power, its Superstars were considered the favourites to win the match. However, the beauty of Money in the Bank is that almost anything can happen, and that was never more true than in Sunday's iteration of the match.
It has been well over a year since Asuka last held a singles title, but her win isn't a huge shock considering how big of a factor she has been in WWE programming during the coronavirus pandemic.
She appeared regularly on both Raw and SmackDown when she and Kairi Sane were WWE women's tag team champions, and she has continued to be a shining star on Raw due to her blend of in-ring ability, charisma and exuberance.
It is easy to forget how dominant Asuka once was since that isn't necessarily the focus of her character currently, but with the Money in the Bank contract now in her possession, she has a golden opportunity to get back to the top of the mountain and unseat Raw women's champion Becky Lynch in the process.
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