Tag: hikaru shida

MJF segment, Lights Out Philly Street Fight set for AEW Dynamite/Collision

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Update —

AEW has also announced that new World Champion MJF will celebrate his title win this Wednesday, just three days after defeating Darby Allin at Double or Nothing to regain the belt.

**********

The first match is on the books for this Wednesday’s three-hour Dynamite/Collision live special.

On the heels of Double or Nothing, AEW comes to The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia this Wednesday night. Fittingly, in the city that gave birth to ECW, there will be a Lights Out Philly Street Fight between former partners Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida. The bout was proposed by Statlander and then accepted by Shida.

Statlander cut a social media promo saying that it did not hurt when Shida struck her with a kendo stick at Double or Nothing. In fact, Statlander wants more of it.

“I want to do it all over again, and we’re going to be in the perfect place,” Statlander said. “So, Wednesday, my dear friend — me, you, and a Philly Street Fight.”

“Stat, I’ve been really patient with you. But now my patience has run out,” Shida responded. “You want me in a Philly Street Fight? I run Philly. My fans, they always bring the ‘Shida Best Around’ sign. You want me? You got me.”

Statlander and Shida’s uneasy team split at Double or Nothing when they, along with Jamie Hayter, challenged for the AEW Women’s World Championship in a four-way match. The bout ended with Thekla getting the win to remain champion.

“Lights Out” is how AEW brands its unsanctioned matches. If tradition holds, this will main event Wednesday’s broadcast or at least the Dynamite portion of it.

AEW Dynamite/Collision (Wednesday, May 27) —

  • MJF celebrates his AEW World Championship win
  • Lights Out Philly Street Fight: Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida
  • The fallout from Double or Nothing

Hikaru Shida turns against Kris Statlander, Thekla retains at AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Thekla has retained her AEW Women’s World Championship at Double or Nothing, while things turned more tense between Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander.

Toward the final stages of the May 24 edition of AEW Double or Nothing, fans saw Thekla defend her Women’s World title against Jamie Hayter, Hikaru Shida, and Kris Statlander.

Midway through the bout, fans saw Shida unknowingly hit Statlander, but she brushed it aside and continued through the match. Things turned more tense as Statlander later confronted Shida, and the two began an exchange before the other two women interfered.

Later, toward the closing moments of the match, fans saw Statlander hit the Saturday Night Fever on Thekla and cover her for the pinfall. However, it was her partner, Shida, who broke the pinfall attempt with a kendo stick. Shida hit Statlander with the kendo stick before she was sent outside to the ringside. Shida was then attacked and taken out by Hayter, while Thekla performed the stomp on Statlander and covered her for the win.

Shida’s decision to turn on Statlander and deny her the title win will intensify the already difficult dynamic of their partnership.

Meanwhile, Thekla has been the champion since February 2026 and is 103 days into her Women’s World title reign.

Women’s trios match part of updated AEW Dynamite lineup

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

A brand new women’s trios match has been added to the upcoming AEW Dynamite lineup.

A few hours before the Wednesday, May 13, 2026, episode of Dynamite from Asheville, North Carolina, AEW President Tony Khan announced the addition of a new trios match on social media.

Triangle of Madness (Skye Blue, Julia Hart, & Thekla) will team to face the Brawling Birds (Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter) & Hikaru Shida.

The announced trios match is now part of the already stacked May 13 AEW Dynamite lineup. The upcoming episode will see Darby Allin defend his AEW World title, Will Ospreay return, and the Men’s and Women’s AEW Owen Hart Foundation brackets get announced.

Khan later also announced an open challenge segment for Kevin Knight’s TNT Championship for Dynamite.

AEW Dynamite | Wednesday | Asheville, North Carolina

  • Triangle of Madness (Skye Blue, Julia Hart, & Thekla) vs. Brawling Birds (Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter) & Hikaru Shida
  • Kevin Knight TNT Championship open challenge
  • Darby Allin (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW World Championship
  • FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler), Tommaso Ciampa, War Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Christian Cage, Adam Copeland & Orange Cassidy
  • MJF to make an appearance
  • Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin
  • Men’s and Women’s AEW Owen Hart Foundation brackets to be announced

Women’s title four-way set for AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Thekla is set to defend her Women’s World Championship at AEW Double or Nothing in a four-way match.

It was announced during the May 9 episode of AEW Fairway to Hell that Thekla’s AEW Women’s World title will be on the line at the Double or Nothing PPV.

The Austrian pro-wrestler will defend her championship against Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, and Jamie Hayter in a four-way match at AEW Double or Nothing 2026.

Thekla has been the champion since February 2026 and has held the title for almost 88-days now. The upcoming match at Double or Nothing will mark Thekla’s sixth title defense.

AEW Double or Nothing 2026 updated match card

AEW Double or Nothing is scheduled to take place on May 24, 2026, at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

  • Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women’s World Championship
  • Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship
  • FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) (c) vs. Cage and Cope (Adam Copeland and Christian Cage) in a tag team “I Quit” match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship
  • Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), Mark Davis, and TBD – Stadium Stampede match

Women’s Tag Team title match added to next AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Women’s Tag Team titles will be on the line this Wednesday.

Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Cross) will defend the titles against Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida following a promo that took place during Saturday’s Collision. Harley Cameron was upset about comments Shida made, with Mina Shirakawa asking Shida to apologize. The former AEW Women’s Champion instead insulted Cameron to her face and said she and Statlander would win the titles from Divine Dominion.

Later in the show, Bayne and Cross seemed to accept Shida’s challenge, with the match later being confirmed for this coming Wednesday.

Shida returned to television in recent weeks focused on building a relationship with Statlander, all while acting heelish to anyone else she came into contact with. While Shida would say nice things in English, she would say more cruel things in Japanese, with both Cameron and Shirakawa picking up on Shida’s actions.

It was also announced Rush would be in action in Fairfax, Virginia. He was dominant on Saturday, defeating Adam Priest.

Current AEW Dynamite lineup | Next Wednesday | Fairfax, VA

  • AEW World Champion Darby Allin defends against Brody King
  • AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion defend against Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida 
  • TNT Champion Kevin Knight defends against MJF
  • Rush will be in action

Wrestling Weekly: WrestleMania fallout, Oba Femi’s immediate future, tremendous AEW title match

Posted on by Victor Sosa

With WWE WrestleMania 42 in the books, the Wrestling Weekly team of Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa look at some of the highlights but with an emphasis on the future of Oba Femi.

In addition, we got one of the best AEW World title matches that has aired on Dynamite, and a match that…well, wasn’t the best.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Hikaru Shida returns on AEW Collision after nearly 500 day absence

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time in nearly 500 days, former AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida returned to AEW TV, making a surprise return on Thursday’s Collision.

Shida challenged reigning TBS Champion Willow Nightingale in an open challenge, losing on a backslide and teasing hitting Nightingale with a cane shot afterward.

It was Shida’s first match in AEW since November 2024 when she was defeated by Kris Statlander. Part of her absence was due to a slow visa process as described by Kenny Omega in May 2025. Last October, she shared on social media that she was returning to the United States but it’s unclear what took so long for AEW to bring her back.

The 37-year-old Shida has remained relatively active in Japan during her time home, wrestling 11 times for various promotions.

An AEW original who has been with the promotion since 2019, Shida has had three reigns as AEW Women’s World Champion. The most recent of those reigns occurred in 2023.

Report: Former AEW Women’s World Champion was backstage at Dynamite

Posted on by Ian Carey

Three-time AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida was reportedly backstage at an AEW show recently.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Shida was backstage at AEW’s show in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday. The report notes that Shida was visiting backstage, as she lives in the Orlando area.

Shida hasn’t wrestled a match for AEW since the November 20, 2024 episode of Dynamite, where she lost to Kris Statlander. It was also the last time she wrestled outside of her home country of Japan, as she spent much of 2025 dealing with visa issues.

Shida announced in October that her visa issues had been resolved and that she had re-signed with AEW. However, she has still yet to wrestle in the United States since then. Shida wrestled two shows at Korakuen Hall in November, once for ZERO1 on November 10 and then for OZ Academy on November 23 for Sonoko Kato’s retirement show.

Former AEW Women’s World Champion reveals she’s re-signed with company

Posted on by Ian Carey

Hikaru Shida says she recently re-signed with AEW.

The former AEW Women’s World Champion revealed the news during a YouTube livestream on Friday. She said fans had been asking if she was retiring after she played the role of a retiring pro wrestler in a stage play last month in Japan.

Shida said:

“I was the main character. The show was almost two hours. I think only five minutes without me during whole show,” she said. “It was the hardest stage play for me, whole ten years but it was really great.”

Shida, under the name Tsuruhime, has performed in MAKAI productions since 2014. MAKAI produces live shows that combine elements of musical theatre, stage drama, and wrestling.

Shida continued about her most recent performance with MAKAI:

“It’s about a wrestler. The title was ‘Retirement’ and this is the story of the wrestler (who) just announced her retirement, and that’s me. Actually, after the show many fans asked me like ‘Are you retiring or is it just a play?’ And of course it’s just a play. I’m not retiring, I just renewed my Visa and contract so I’m not retiring. But fans asked me so that means my acting was too good.”

The play ran from September 18 to 21. On October 2, Shida posted to X that she was returning to the United States. Her most recent AEW match, a loss to Kris Statlander, took place on the November 20, 2024 edition of AEW Dynamite.

Shida’s full livestream is below:

AEW star Hikaru Shida returning to United States

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Hikaru Shida’s AEW return could be approaching.

It’s been nearly a year since we last saw Shida compete in an AEW ring. Since November 2024, she’s been away from the company with the visa renewal process causing her absence. While in her home country of Japan, Shida has worked some matches this year, including an appearance at a show for OZ Academy in September.

An AEW return date has not been announced yet, but Shida has revealed that she is now heading back to the United States.

“Soaked in the hot springs at the airport, ate curry in the lounge—all set! See you again, Japan,” she wrote. “I’m ready to go back to the US.”

An AEW original who has been with the promotion since 2019, Shida has had three reigns as AEW Women’s World Champion. The most recent of those reigns occurred in 2023. Shida’s last AEW match before this absence was a loss to Kris Statlander on the November 20, 2024 episode of Dynamite.

Kenny Omega addressed Shida’s AEW status during a Twitch stream this May, noting that her visa renewal process was taking longer than expected.

“You never really know how long the process is going to take. And in this case, it’s taking quite a while,” Omega said.

Shida did make a social media post at the end of July showing off her passport, but she did not return to AEW at that time.

Update on Hikaru Shida’s AEW status

Posted on by Ian Carey

Hikaru Shida appears to be back in the United States.

The 37-year-old hasn’t wrestled for AEW since November as she has been in Japan dealing with visa issues. She recently posted a photo of herself with a passport on Instagram along with an airplane emoji. On Saturday, she posted an image of herself reunited with her cat.

In May, Kenny Omega, who had been looking after Shida’s cats, mentioned on a video game stream that Shida’s visa renewal was taking longer than expected.

“You never really know how long the process is going to take. And in this case, it’s taking quite a while,” he said.

Shida wrestled at Korakuen Hall on Tuesday at an independent show, teaming with Starlight Kid and Saori Anou in the main event. Her most recent AEW match was a loss to Kris Statlander on the November 20 episode of AEW Dynamite.

Kenny Omega says Hikaru Shida’s visa renewal taking ‘quite a while’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Kenny Omega provided an update on Hikaru Shida during a recent Twitch stream.

The former AEW Women’s World Champion announced last month that she was returning to Japan to renew her visa and wrestle a few matches in the country.

Omega, who is taking care of Shida’s two cats while she is away, says the visa process is taking longer than expected.

“You never really know how long the process is going to take. And in this case, it’s taking quite a while,” Omega said. “Her cats get separation anxiety, they don’t like being alone.”

“I would do it anytime. It is not a chore whatsoever. I’m enjoying the baby. But I do worry because this week, as you guys know, is pay-per-view week. So we’ve got Dynamite, Collision, then also the pay-per-view,” he said of watching Shida’s cats.

Hikaru Shida in 2025

Shida hasn’t wrestled a match for AEW since last fall, when she lost to Kris Statlander on the November 20 edition of AEW Dynamite. She appeared at Maya Yukihi’s anniversary show at Korakuen Hall in February, wrestled on the Lucha Fiesta show at Sumo Hall on April 27, wrestled her former Ice Ribbon opponent Hiragi Kurumi at her anniversary show on May 2, and won a battle royal at a WAVE event on May 4, also held at Korakuen Hall.

Big Boom A.J. appearance part of new additions to AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

Big Boom A.J. will make an appearance on this Wednesday’s Full Gear go-home edition of AEW Dynamite.

The viral social media star known for hanging out with Big Justice and The Rizzler and enjoying double chunk chocolate cookies is preparing for his return to the ring next Saturday against QT Marshall on the pay-per-view pre-show.

Wednesday will also see a bout between former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida and TBS title challenger Kris Statlander. During Saturday’s Collision, Shida said she wanted a shot at the TBS title if Statlander can defeat incumbent champion Mercedes Mone at Full Gear, leading to Statlander requesting the match for this Wednesday instead.

After lengthy absences, CMLL’s Hechicero, Atlantis Jr., and Mascara Dorada will be in action against opponents to be named. The CMLL contingent’s return was announced Saturday as well.

Here’s the updated lineup for Reading, PA:

  • Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta
  • Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli
  • Will Ospreay, Ricochet, Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer & Brian Cage
  • Big Boom A.J. appearance
  • Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida
  • Hechicero, Atlantis Jr., and Mascara Dorada in action

AEW Rampage live spoilers from Manchester, NH

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: Josh Nason

The following are live spoilers for this Friday’s AEW Rampage, taped following Dynamite at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH.

Rampage:

Hikaru Shida defeated Viva Van

Shida picked up the win after hitting a Falcon Arrow. This was both her first appearance and win in AEW since a mid-September episode of Rampage.

Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) and The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) (w/ Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty and Trish Adora) in a three-way

Taven and Bennett got the pin on Reynolds after hitting their double-team finisher. After the match, Brian Cage came out to distract Taven and Bennett which led to Lance Archer attacking both men from behind. The heels dealt out a beatdown and left them both laying. After a few minutes, Roderick Strong then ran out and got the advantage on both guys, leading to Bennett and Taven recovering. The faces then sent the heels packing.

This was Dean & Bravo’s first AEW appearance since a Rampage match this past June. They joined Shane Taylor Promotions on last week’s ROH TV.

Top Flight (w/ Leila Grey and Action Andretti) defeated JD Drake & Beef

Darius and Dante Martin picked up the win after hitting their combo leg sweep/DDT on Beef. All four men were shaking hands afterward when Lio Rush came out and exchanged some words with the Top Flight crew.

Lio Rush defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)

This was a rematch from their late-October bout that Komander won. This was fine, but the crowd had mainly left by the time this started which didn’t help. There were lots of near falls near the end, but the end came when Rush hit his rope-assisted stunner and frog splash to get the win. Afterward, Rush shook Komander’s hand and showed respect.

Afterward, Taven and Bennett (both New England locals with Taven hailing originally from Derry which is 15 minutes away from Manchester) came back out to send the crowd home happy.

Pre-show dark matches:

  • Satnam Singh (w/ Jay Lethal) defeated Colt Cabana
  • Nyla Rose defeated Lydia

Ring of Honor (pre-show):

  • Katsuyori Shibata defeated The Butcher

Notes:

  • A healthy amount of fans left before the taping started at 10:15 PM, just a few minutes after Dynamite ended. The exodus continued throughout the taping and was very quiet for the Rush vs. Komander rematch. None of the Rampage matches were announced to the crowd to entice them to stay.

Lio Rush vs. Komander rematch part of AEW Rampage lineup

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

A high-flying rematch, a three-way tag team bout, the return of a former AEW Women’s Champion, and a tag team contest are set for this Friday’s AEW Rampage.

After the two battled on the October 30th Rampage, Lio Rush (seen above) and Komander will go one-on-one again in a rematch. Komander picked up the win that night and Rush will be looking to even the score.

Rush’s allies in Top Flight will battle the reluctant duo of JD Drake and Beef in tag team action.

A three-way tag team match will see the Undisputed Kingdom’s Matt Taven and Mike Bennett take on Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds, and new Shane Taylor Promotions duo The Infantry.

For the first time since September, former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will make her return as she battles Viva Van.

Here’s the full lineup, taped Wednesday after Dynamite in Manchester, NH:

  • Lio Rush vs. Komander II
  • Hikaru Shida vs. Viva Van
  • Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) (w/ Evil Uno) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) in a three-way
  • Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) vs. JD Drake & Beef