Hikaru Shida is the new #1 contender to AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter.
Tonight’s AEW Rampage episode saw Shida retain her Regina di Wave Title over The Bunny. The match saw interference from Penelope Ford, but Shida still got the win with her Katana finisher.
Per the stipulation, Shida has earned a future title shot from Hayter, but there’s no word yet on when that match will take place. This will be the first-ever singles bout between the two. Tonight’s Bunny vs. Shida match was also a first.
Hayter appeared on this week’s AEW Dynamite to declare that she would grant a title shot to the winner of Bunny vs. Shida. After the match, Hayter came out and had words with Shida from the ramp. The match will be Hayter’s first title defense since winning the title from Toni Storm at AEW Full Gear last month.
This is the second time Shida has defended the Regina di Wave Title on AEW programming. She previously retained over Emi Sakura on the August 29 edition of Elevation. Shida became a two-time champion by defeating Suzu Suzuki on August 14 at the Wave 15th Anniversary Carnival Wave show in Tokyo, Japan. Following the win over Sakura, Shida’s second title defense came with a win over Yuki Miyazaki on November 6 at the Wave Let’s Enjoy event in Tokyo. The win over The Bunny was just her third title defense. Shida also currently holds Ice Ribbon’s International Ribbon Tag Team Titles with Ibuki Hoshi. She became a five-time champion when she and Hoshi defeated Makoto and Hamuko Hoshi on September 24 at New Ice Ribbon #1230 in Tokyo.
Below are a few shots from tonight’s Bunny vs. Shida match, along with the post-match angle:
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