Long-Absent AEW Star Set For Return To TV?

Could this multiple-time champion be on the verge of a return to AEW programming?

by Andrew Pollard
Hikaru Shida
AEW

Having not competed for AEW since January, could Hikaru Shida be set for a return to AEW programming? Possibly.

As per Fightful Select, creative discussions have taken place for Shida's AEW return. There's no further details at this time on what's been pitched for the three-time AEW Women's Champion, but it's at least good to hear that the 35-year-old could be on the cusp of a return to the AEW fold.

Shida has only wrestled twice for AEW in 2024 so far - both on Rampage - with the most recent of these contests being a 10 January win over Queen Aminata. In the time since then, the hugely talented Japanese star has wrestled twice for Ring of Honor, picking up a win over Rachael Ellering before suffering a loss to ROH Women's Champion Athena.

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It's worth noting, there's been no reports of any sort of injury issues keeping Hikaru Shida on the AEW sidelines, and it seems merely a case of the company keeping her benched due to zero creative plans for Hikaru over the past nearly five months.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.