Hikaru Shida, the reigning AEW women’s champion, recently opened up about her second title win and how it was one of the greatest moments of her life. In a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, Shida expressed her joy at winning the championship in front of fans after her previous reign took place during the COVID-19 pandemic without any live audience.
Reflecting on the night of her victory, Shida stated, “That was the greatest moment in my life. For me, it’s more important that it was in front of fans because the last time I was champion, there were no fans. Actually, I won the title at the first pay-per-view without fans, and I lost the title at the pay-per-view when fans returned. So yeah, when I was champion, it was always without fans. So I’m so happy I could hear the cheers of the fans. It felt like a dream.”
Shida emphasized how much she appreciated the support she received during her first title run but highlighted the significance of actually hearing the fans cheer for her. She mentioned, “During the pandemic, fans cheered for us, and I could see that online. But I always felt a bit unsettled because I couldn’t actually hear them. That feeling was so strange. It felt like a dream, but also felt, ‘Oh my god, it’s real.’ The fans are there, and I can hear them.”
When asked if she expected to be the AEW women’s champion going into the promotion’s biggest show of all time, Shida admitted that she didn’t really anticipate it. She explained, “Of course, I always wanted to be the champion. But the first time I won the title, it was only six months since I moved here. There were a lot of things I couldn’t do, like interviews, because I worried about my English. I know I still need to work on it. But now I’m feeling much, much better. I can relax and talk about what I want to. So I always wanted to be the champion, but I didn’t expect it to happen, especially right before our biggest show at Wembley. I was so surprised. But I did it.”
Shida’s next title defense is scheduled for the August 27th All In event at Wembley Stadium. You can find more information about the event here. To watch her full interview, check out the video below.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)
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