Top AEW Star Injured, Out Of Owen Hart Foundation Tournament (Rampage SPOILERS)
A major AEW player has been replaced in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament due to injury.
Hikaru Shida is out of AEW's ongoing Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament, as confirmed during last night's television tapings in Long Island, New York.
Tony Schiavone broke the news during an interview segment with The Baddies (Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan, and Red Velvet) taped for this Friday's episode of Rampage. The former AEW Women's World Champion will be replaced by Kris Statlander in the competition.
There is currently no word on the nature of Shida's injury, nor was any indication given of how long she'll be out. The Japanese star had been set to face Velvet in a first-round match after defeating Julia Hart to qualify for the competition last month. Now, that honour will go to Statlander.
Shida has spent the past few weeks in Japan, working for a multitude of joshi promotions. Her last bout as a six-person two-out-of-three falls tag team match for OZ Academy on its 8 May District Of Dystopia show. Whether or not the injury was incurred there is unknown.
All the best to Shida in her recovery. Her replacement, Statlander, recently debuted a new look and persona on AEW's YouTube shows, though she is yet to bring it to cable.