Hikaru Shida opens up about winning the AEW women’s title for the second time.
The top company star spoke on this topic during a recent interview with Denise Salcedo. Shida calls the victory one of the best nights of her life since her last world championship win came in front of zero fans due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The night was the, I think that was the greatest moment in my life. For me, it’s more important is [it was] in front of fans because the last time I was champion [was] no fans. Actually, I got the title at the first pay-per-view without fans, and I lose the title at the pay-per-view the first week the fans come back. So yeah. When I was champion, all the time is without fans. So I’m so happy, I could hear the cheers of the fans. The moment, that was the best. I felt it was like a dream.
Shida adds that she felt very supported during her first title run, but reiterates how nice it was for her to actually hear the fans cheer for her.
During the pandemic, fans cheer us, and I can see that [online]. But I think I always felt like of unsteady because I couldn’t actually hear them. That feeling was so strange. I felt like it was a dream, but also felt, ‘Oh my god, it’s real.’ The fans are there, and I can hear that.
Shifting subjects, Shida would be asked if she expected to be the AEW women’s champion going into the promotion’s biggest show of all time.
To be honest, not really. Of course, I always wanted. But the first time I was champion, it was only six months since I moved here. There’s a lot of things I couldn’t do. For example, the interview, I [didn’t] feel comfortable with interviews because I worry about my English. I know I still need to do work. But now I’m feeling much, much better. I can relax and I can talk what I want to. So I’ve always felt there were a lot of things I couldn’t do as a champion. So I always wanted, but I really didn’t expect it happening, especially right before our biggest show, Wembley, so I was so surprised. But I did it.
Shida will be defending the AEW women’s championship next at the August 27th All In event from Wembley Stadium. You can read about that here, or check out her full interview below.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)