A former AEW women’s champion finally made her long-awaited return to the company after being on hiatus for well over a year. This took place despite recent rumors indicating that the star in question, Hikaru Shida, had not been factored into any immediate creative plans.
The Shining Samurai has been one of the aces of the Tony Khan-led promotion’s women’s division since she started her time in All Elite Wrestling back in 2019. She captured the admiration of fans with her performances against top stars like Thunder Rosa, Toni Storm, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, Queen Aminata and Mercedes Mone, to name only a few. In spite of her consistent popularity, however, Shida has been missing from AEW programming since 2024, with reports explaining her absence as stemming from visa issues.
A recent report claimed that the Japanese grappler had successfully resolved her visa-related difficulties, and that she was still on hiatus in All Elite Wrestling because the promotion did not have any creative plans for her. However, on this week’s edition of Collision, Shida finally made her return, answering Willow Nightingale’s open call for a TBS Championship match.
Unfortunately, Shida was unable to unseat The Babe with The Power, who successfully retained her strap at the show.
When was Hikaru Shida last seen in action in AEW?
Before her return to All Elite Wrestling on Thursday Night Collision this week, Hikaru Shida was last seen inside the squared circle on the November 20, 2024 episode of Dynamite, where she faced off against Kris Statlander in singles competition. “Born Again Kristen” was able to defeat the former Women’s World Champion after a hard-hitting battle.
It remains to be seen what lies next for Shida now that she is finally back in All Elite Wrestling.
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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee
