AEW is reportedly set to announce that Hikaru Shida is injured, and that she is being pulled from The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament.
Tony Schiavone taped a segment for this week’s AEW Rampage where he interviewed TBS Champion Jade Cargill with The Baddies – Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet. It was announced that Shida is currently on the shelf, so Kris Statlander will be replacing her against Velvet in a first round tournament match scheduled for next Friday, May 20.
No other details were provided on the injury, but PWInsider notes that Schiavone said the injury occurred during Shida’s Philly Street Fight loss to Serena Deeb on the April 27 edition of Dynamite.
You can click here for full spoilers from tonight’s Rampage taping on Long Island, NY.
It remains to be seen if AEW will be announcing a storyline injury for Shida on this week’s Rampage, or if she’s legitimately hurt. Social media indicates that she is currently in Japan, and is active.
Shida previously defeated Julia Hart to qualify for The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. Statlander never participated in a qualifier, so now she gets a chance against Velvet next Friday on Rampage. Velvet previously defeated Willow Nightingale in a qualifier. You can click here for the latest on the women’s tournament and click here for the latest on the men’s tournament, and click here for news on tournament matches to air next Wednesday on Dynamite.
Stay tuned for more on Shida and more on The Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments.
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