Account
Hikaru Shida Beats Nyla Rose, Wins AEW Women's Title at Double or Nothing
May 24, 2020
Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing on Saturday night to win the AEW Women's Championship, making her the third different performer to hold the title in its history.
Shida and Rose put each other through the wringer over the course of the match.
Shida landed the decisive blow when she hit Rose in the head with a kendo stick. That put down the champion, and the challenger hit a running knee for the victory.
Shida established herself as the No. 1 contender entering Double or Nothing not only because of her overall record of success over the past few months but also because of her victory in a Fatal 4-Way match on a recent episode of Dynamite.
In a match that featured four of the best female performers AEW has to offer, Shida beat out Britt Baker, Kris Statlander and Penelope Ford to earn a title shot.
While Shida has been a constant presence on Dynamite during the coronavirus pandemic, it wasn't until recently that Rose returned to AEW programming.
Back on the Feb. 12 episode of Dynamite, Rose beat Riho for the AEW Women's title, making The Native Beast the second Women's champion in AEW history. Nyla then retained the title over Statlander at AEW Revolution on Feb. 29.
After coming out on the winning end in a tag team match alongside Bea Priestley over Shida and Statlander on the March 11 Dynamite, Rose didn't appear on TV for nearly two months. She finally returned a couple of weeks ago and beat Kenzie Paige in a squash.
Shida and Rose have gone at it in tag team bouts on a couple of occasions in AEW, but Saturday's clash at Double or Nothing was their first-ever singles match, which made it one of the most highly anticipated contests on the card.
It can be argued that AEW hasn't done as much with its women's division as the men's singles and tag team divisions, but there is no doubt that the talent is present, and Shida and Rose could be the two best female wrestlers AEW has to offer.
Both have been booked fairly well over the past several months and built into big-time threats to the point that it was difficult to predict who would prevail at Double or Nothing.
Although Shida won the title, Rose's spectacular record could earn her a rematch in the near future; however, the likes of Baker and Statlander could stake claim to a title match as well.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).