AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida has noted that she was supposed to quit wrestling years before she arrived in AEW.

It feels odd to imagine the AEW women’s division without Hikaru Shida. One of the best wrestlers in the world, Shida has revealed that she originally planned to stop wrestling in 2009.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Shida explained that she had become sick of many sports after competing for most her life. After portraying a wrestler in a film, Shida’s passion for pro-wrestling was reignited.

Here is the full quote:

“I was supposed to quit wrestling after I finished filming a movie based on wrestling. I had always been a sports player since I started judo when I was three years old but became sick of it as I grew older. After watching my movie and seeing myself as a pro wrestler, I became inspired. After that, I began to wrestle seriously, not just as an actor.”

Defeating Nyla Rose for the title in May 2020, Shida is the longest reigning AEW Women’s Champion. A formidable competitor, Shida hasn’t lost an AEW singles match since December 2019.

At AEW Revolution on Sunday, Shida defends her championship against Ryo Mizunami. Also on the card, Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley battle over the AEW Championship in an exploding barbed wire deathmatch.

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• Ryo Mizunami
• revolution
• Hikaru Shida
• AEW

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