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Former Staff

Rampage Review: Hikaru Shida Shines Against Marina Shafir

Updated: Jul 29, 2023

It’s Friday night, and you know what that means? Time for an exceptional Rampage Review. It’s the 100th episode of Rampage! This week’s dose of women’s action sees Hikaru Shida take on ‘The Problem’ Marina Shafir.

The Match

Shafir does not get an entrance, which is always a bad sign. The two go back and forth. Shida heads to the top rope but is dragged off by Shafir. Shafir capitalizes, hitting roundhouse kicks to the legs of Shida and tossing her across the ring with a judo throw.

Shida rallies, raining down elbow strikes. Gaining control, Shida hits a pitch-perfect question mark kick into the falcon arrow for a near fall. Shida quickly takes advantage of the opportunity, hitting the Katana for the victory. Your winner of the match Hikaru Shida.

Aftermath

We cut to backstage, where the newly crowned TBS Champion Kris Statlander is with Renee Paquette. Statlander says she is a fighting champion ready to take on all comers. Any time. Any place. Kris Stat – is where it’s at! So perhaps a title shot is on the horizon for Shida, who is now 6-0 in singles competition this year.

Final Thoughts

A quick decent match. Shida looked good, and Shafir showcased her unique wrestling style without exposing herself.

It is great to see the crowd behind Shida, despite her being away from AEW for most of 2023. Shida’s lengthy run as Women’s champion during the pandemic clearly has retained its importance in the minds of AEW fans.

Those are my thoughts. What do you think? Are you excited about Shida’s return to AEW programming? Where does she go from here? Should Shida be the next person to face Kris Statlander? Please, share your thoughts and opinions. We at Women’s Wrestling Talk love hearing from our readers.  

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