Hikaru Shida Hopes More Joshi Wrestlers Come To AEW, Believes Joshi Is The Best Style

Hikaru Shida is the most accomplished female in AEW history as a two-time AEW Women’s Champion and the longest reigning AEW Women’s Champion at 372 days. 

Shida is one of many Joshi wrestlers who started early with AEW, joining names like Riho, Emi Sakura, Ryo Mizunami, and Yuka Sakazaki and semi-regular AEW competitors who competed at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. 

Speaking to Tempest of WrestleTalk, representing Fightful, ahead of AEW All In, Shida discussed the Joshi style and bringing it to AEW. 

“I’m saying this from beginning, the Japanese Joshi style is the best style in the world. I’m so glad to show Joshi style to the world. Japanese wrestling business is much smaller than it is in the United States, so there are a lot of great wrestlers, but we don’t have TV shows, we just have the small streaming [services]. One reason I’m in AEW is to show more Japanese Joshi to the world and I hope that other Joshi wrestlers get a big chance to be a big star and be rich,” she said. 

Asked if she would like to see more Joshi competitors in AEW, Shida responded by saying, “Yeah, of course. Our roster is so big, I really hope so. Some wrestlers who wrestled in the tournament in Japan [in 2021], I hope they come to the US and wrestle in front of big crowds.”

Shida helped put together the AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament in 2021 which featured half the bracket competing in America and the other half of the bracket in Japan. 

Shida was in action at AEW All In defending the AEW Women’s Title against Saraya, Britt Baker, and Toni Storm in a four-way bout. Saraya walked away with the championship. 

Fans can find Fightful’s coverage of AEW All In by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast by clicking here. 

Watch the full interview with Shida in the video above.