In what is a highly impressive milestone for Hikaru Shida, today marks 365 days since her capture of the AEW Women’s Championship from Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing last year. Not only is this an impressive milestone for Shida within the women’s division, but within the entire promotion – this is the first reign in All Elite Wrestling‘s short history to reach the one year mark. Her year of dominance is indicative of the Japanese influence which reigns over AEW – an influence more prominent than in any other US promotion.
AEW Has Given Joshi Wrestling A US Platform
For decades, we have seen various performers come over to the US from Japan. Whether it be Tajiri, Jushin “Thunder” Liger, KENTA, or Shinsuke Nakamura, there has been no shortage of male Japanese performers within the United States. With the exception of brief periods in the 1980s and 1990s where the likes of Bull Nakano and Jumping Bomb Angels (Itzuki Yamazaki & Noriyo Tateno) performed on US soil for the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Japanese women – or joshis – have mostly been confined to Japan and corners of the independent circuit. This changed during the 2010s, where we saw the likes of Asuka, Io Shirai, and Kairi Sane come over to the now-WWE. Whereas the WWE have done an excellent job with its Joshi imports, AEW have gone one step further with the highly-rated AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament – which introduced a whole host of Japanese talent to the American audience. Yuka Sakakazi, Mei Surunga, Veny, Ryo Mizunami and Rin Kadokura were some of the names featured. Veterans such as Emi Sakura and Aja Kong were reintroduced, whilst Maki Itoh became a big star coming out of the tournament. Overall, it cannot be denied that AEW management sees the appeal in Japanese women’s wrestling. With Riho (the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion) and Hikaru Shida herself having drawn some of the highest viewed matches and segments in recent months, it shouldn’t be any surprise.
The Reign of Hikaru Shida Has Been A Success
Whereas the AEW women’s division has come under criticism for a large part of Shida’s reign, this is through no fault of her own. The booking of the division has been, at times, poor. Often, the women in AEW are given one or two segments/matches per show, which simply does not give them enough time to establish themselves on the roster. With Shida and Riho being proven draws; Nyla Rose being a popular star and Jade Cargill being a potential mega star, this will change with time. If not for the success of Shida, who regularly has good-to-great matches and is very likable in her role as champion, things might have been worse than they are. For 365 days, she has carried herself like a champion; worked well with the little she has been given, and has become one of the main attractions on AEW Dynamite. With such a young promotion and a young women’s division within that promotion, a cool, reliable head as AEW Women’s Champion was necessary as the division gets built up. Shida was the right person for the right time and whereas she might soon drop the championship to Britt Bake DMD at Double or Nothing, she can take plenty away from her lengthy stint as champion. Hikaru Shida has been a tremendous success as AEW Women’s Champion.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW Dark: Elevation (Monday nights) and AEW: Dark (Tuesday nights) at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
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