AEW star Hikaru Shida returning to United States

Hikaru Shida’s AEW return could be approaching.

It’s been nearly a year since we last saw Shida compete in an AEW ring. Since November 2024, she’s been away from the company with the visa renewal process causing her absence. While in her home country of Japan, Shida has worked some matches this year, including an appearance at a show for OZ Academy in September.

An AEW return date has not been announced yet, but Shida has revealed that she is now heading back to the United States.

“Soaked in the hot springs at the airport, ate curry in the lounge—all set! See you again, Japan,” she wrote. “I’m ready to go back to the US.”

An AEW original who has been with the promotion since 2019, Shida has had three reigns as AEW Women’s World Champion. The most recent of those reigns occurred in 2023. Shida’s last AEW match before this absence was a loss to Kris Statlander on the November 20, 2024 episode of Dynamite.

Kenny Omega addressed Shida’s AEW status during a Twitch stream this May, noting that her visa renewal process was taking longer than expected.

“You never really know how long the process is going to take. And in this case, it’s taking quite a while,” Omega said.

Shida did make a social media post at the end of July showing off her passport, but she did not return to AEW at that time.

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