About
Hikaru Shida is a Japanese pro‑wrestler, actress, and former martial‑arts competitor who has become one of the most decorated performers in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Born on 11 June 1988 in Samukawa, Kanagawa, she originally stepped into the ring in 2008 and today owns the longest AEW Women’s World Championship reign on record—372 days—and three total title runs.
After signing with AEW in 2019, Shida quickly grew into the backbone of the women’s division, noted for crisp strikes, dramatic selling, and a signature running knee strike. Her third reign began in October 2023 on a “Title Tuesday” edition of Dynamite, underlining her knack for shining on big‑ticket broadcasts.
Although she spent early 2025 at home in Japan waiting on a U.S. visa renewal, Shida remained upbeat, streaming regularly on YouTube and promising fans an energetic comeback.
Before Fame
Sport came first. As a youngster, Shida studied judo and earned third‑dan in kendo—skills that later flavored her hybrid wrestling style.
Ironically, acting opened the door to wrestling. In 2008, she landed a lead role in the movie Three Count, a film set inside a women’s wrestling promotion. To make the performance authentic, she trained at Emi Sakura’s Ice Ribbon dojo, fell in love with the craft, and chose to stay on after filming wrapped.
Between 2008 and 2014, she cut her teeth in Ice Ribbon, capturing the ICE×60 singles title and five tag belts while juggling TV work on the variety show Muscle Venus and small film projects. Those early years built the resilience and media savvy that would serve her once AEW came calling.
Trivia
- Cosplay connection: Shida is an avid cosplayer and often tweaks her gear to echo characters like Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa Lockhart—fans even spotted hand‑painted details on her face paint during indie appearances.
- Video‑game avatar: She appears as a playable character in AEW Fight Forever, the promotion’s first console title released in 2023.
- Record book oddity: Shida holds both the longest (372 days) and the shortest (25 days) AEW Women’s World Championship reigns—a quirky testament to wrestling’s unpredictable booking.
- Weapon of choice: Decades of kendo provided her with a valid excuse to wield a shinai (bamboo sword) during crowd-pleasing ringside altercations.
- Language skills: Although she works mainly in Japanese promotions and AEW, Shida speaks fluently in English on her vlog, allowing her to gain an international following without needing subtitles.
Family Life
Shida keeps personal details close to the vest; public interviews rarely touch on parents or siblings. What fans do know is that she adores animals—so much so that fellow AEW star Kenny Omega looked after her cat in Florida while she waited on visa paperwork in 2025.
When touring the U.S., she splits time between hotel rooms and Jacksonville’s Daily’s Place training facility, but during the off-season, she returns to Kanagawa to recharge with family and old dojo friends. Friends note that those trips home are when she crafts new ring gear and refines entrance music concepts.
In spite of a busy schedule, Shida values mental health, listing kendo meditation exercises as a daily reboot. That discipline, she explains, “keeps the roar of the crowd from drowning out the quiet voice that reminds me why I wrestle.”
Associated With
- Emi Sakura: The veteran who first coached Shida at Ice Ribbon and later shared AEW rings, showcasing their mentor‑protégé chemistry to a global audience.
- Kenny Omega: Beyond cat‑sitting, Omega has publicly praised Shida for bridging Japanese and North‑American styles—a philosophy he also lives by. Their occasional mixed‑tag appearances draw buzz for storytelling nuance.
- Toni Storm: Storm both dethroned and was dethroned by Shida in headline bouts, making the duo a modern women’s-title rivalry that mirrors iconic feuds of earlier eras.
- Nyla Rose: Shida gained her initial AEW title victory over Rose in a no‑disqualification bout at Double or Nothing 2020, starting her record reign.
- The Ice Ribbon Class of 2008: Stars like Miyako Matsumoto and Tsukasa Fujimoto are close friends, frequently offering advice on social media and reuniting at special events from time to time in Japan.
