Absent Former AEW Champ Hikaru Shida Teases Update On Visa Status
Former AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida has not been seen in All Elite Wrestling throughout the entirety of 2025, with her last match for the company coming on the November 20, 2024 episode of "AEW Dynamite" against Kris Statlander. The reason why she has been away for so long is due to visa issues which have kept her in her homeland of Japan, but AEW fans might not have to wait too long to Shida back in the United States if one of her recent social media posts are anything to go by.
— HIKARU SHIDA 志田 光 (@shidahikaru) July 31, 2025
On July 31, Shida took to her X (formerly known as Twitter) account to post a picture of her with a brand new Japanese passport while sitting in an airport waiting area, complete with the simple caption of an airplane emoji. Fans have been eagerly awaiting Shida's return and celebrated as such under her recent social media post, but at the time of writing, it's still unclear as to when Shida could realistically get back into the mix in AEW as the company is rapidly approaching their Forbidden Door pay-per-view with New Japan Pro Wrestling on August 24 in London, England.
The former AEW Women's World Champion hasn't remained on the sidelines while she's been back in Japan as she has toured around various independent promotions. Back in February, Shida teamed up with long-time AEW employee Michael Nakazawa to take on fellow AEW star Kota Ibushi and Maya Yukihi at a special anniversary event to celebrate Yukihi's career. In April, she was part of a special freelance Lucha show at Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo where she competed in a 16-person Torneo Cibernetico Elimination match that also featured AEW stars like Willow Nightingale, Emi Sakura, and Viva Van, and has appeared for companies like Gokigen Pro Hataage, WAVE, and Prominence, with her most recent match taking place on July 29.