Hikaru Shida is officially back in AEW after months away from television.
After AEW taped the April 1, 2026 episode of Dynamite, the company stayed at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba to tape the April 2 episode of Collision. During that taping, Willow Nightingale issued an open challenge for the TBS Championship — and Shida stepped up to answer it, making her surprise return.
This marks Shida’s first AEW appearance in a very long time and immediately places her back into the title picture. Her return comes after a long stretch away from AEW programming that left fans questioning her status. Earlier reports indicated that her visa issues had already been resolved, but there were reportedly no creative plans in place for her return at the time.
Shida had not appeared on AEW television since the November 20, 2024 episode of Dynamite, where she lost to Kris Statlander. She remained active in Japan throughout 2025, but had not wrestled a match in 2026 before answering Willow’s open challenge.
As a three-time AEW Women’s World Champion — including a 372-day title reign — Shida remains one of the most accomplished stars in the division. Her sudden return adds immediate depth to the women’s roster and puts her right back into a major spotlight. Now that Hikaru Shida has returned and stepped straight into a championship situation, the big question is how AEW plans to use her moving forward.