I go through phases of being extremely impressed and extremely confused with how Wrestling has made a complete comeback in the 2010s. Arguably, it’s more popular than ever with the WWE touring around the world and pulling their stars from many different countries. Not that the WWE is the only game in town, as even smaller and international Wrestling organizations have become quite popular. Of course, Japan was early on the Pro-Wresting boom and like in baseball, many stars have crossed the Pacific to perform in the United States. One such star is ASUKA, or Kana to her longtime Japanese circuit fans, who’s gone from big in Japan to big in the states to… launching a gaming channel.
It’s no secret to fans that ASUKA loves games and even occasionally wears an Xbox 360 logo to the ring. With her popularity peaking worldwide right now, it makes sense for her to connect with her fans in a more personal way than the scripted nature of WWE allows. Plus, as evidenced by the video above, she’s got serious Mario skills. Through the entirety of her first video, which already has over 60,000 views, she switches back and forth between English and Japanese so everybody will be happy.
I got out of wrestling when the Attitude Era ended in the early 2000s but all my friends who’ve stuck with it or, more accurately, have gotten into it as adults stan ASUKA hard. From what I’ve seen of her, she’s intense in the ring and delightful outside of it. With the cult of personality she has going for her, a gaming channel could be a lucrative side gig for her or at the very least a fun way to pass the time. I wonder if she’ll stick to streamer friendly games like Mario Maker or try something more specific down the line.
You can watch ASUKA on WWE Smackdown currently.