Who Will Take Asuka's Place in the NXT Women's Division?

The WWE NXT women's division is in a major state of uncertainty after last week's departure of long time champion Asuka.

At last Thursday's NXT tapings, Asuka relinquished the title belt for two reasons. One, she is being called up to the main roster (likely to the RAW brand). Two, she suffered a broken collarbone during her match with Ember Moon at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III.

This leaves a sort of vacuum in Florida when it comes to the direction of the women's division. Asuka has been champion for so long, the division is going to have to be re-established again. At the same time, this opens up an opportunity for some new faces to shine and usher in the next great era of women's wrestling for NXT.

So who will these wrestlers be? Ember Moon would seem to make the most sense as the new face of the division. She's a tremendous wrestler, has a great look, and is immensely popular with the crowd. Many even thought (myself included) that she had a shot at dethroning Asuka during their match at TakeOver.

Other options include Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Nikki Cross, Ruby Riot, and Mandy Rose. Royce in particular has improved immensely over the past year or so, though Cross and Riot are probably the best in-ring performers at this point from this tier of performers. Mandy Rose is a great athlete and has tremendous potential moving forward, but she's probably not quite at the level to be in the title picture.

WWE has apparently started holding internal discussions about having the winner of the Mae Young Classic crowned the new NXT Women's Champion, according to Dave Meltzer on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. The finals will air live on the WWE Network on September 12 after WWE SmackDown Live.

It would certainly be a good way to draw attention to the conclusion of the tournament and perhaps create a new star. The negative would be that none of the faces that have been established in NXT over the last several months or years would be elevated. Under this scenario, the new champion would be a newcomer to NXT that the fans are not as familiar with.

While the tournament option would increase interest in the short term, Ember Moon is the best long term bet when looking at the current female roster at NXT.