10 Wrestlers AEW Failed In 2022

3. Hikaru Shida

AEW Failed CM Punk
AEW

Truth be told, it's not just 2022 when AEW did dirty by Hikaru Shida. In reality, the Shining Samurai has often been an afterthought since losing the AEW Women's Championship to Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. at Double or Nothing in May 2021.

Following that title loss, it bafflingly took five months for Shida to resurface on AEW Dynamite, with those months seeing the hugely talented star toiling away on Dark and Dark: Elevation. While the first half of 2022 did see Hikaru's rivalry with Serena Deeb getting spotlighted on TV, that pair's Philadelphia Street Fight in April was followed by another four-month gap before Shida turned up on the Dynamite prior to All Out.

Of course, Thunder Rosa having to step away from in-ring action caused a reshuffle for All Out, with Shida thrust into a four-way offering to crown the Interim AEW Women's Championship. Since then, there's been just two Dynamite outings and two Rampage appearances for the 34-year-old.

Granted, Hikaru Shida took some time out to visit her homeland of Japan earlier this year, but there was so much time when the talent was healthy and available, but AEW instead opted to have her wasting time on its YouTube shows.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.