Walking in the door on Wednesday night, the defending Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida will have accrued 333 days as the title holder. It marks her as the longest reigning champion of any division in the entirety of All Elite Wrestling, far surpassing the next closest of Jon Moxley’s 277 days at the top of the Men’s division. Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Abadon, Big Swole, Thunder Rosa, Anna Jay, and Ryo Mizunami have all fallen before her and now another has risen up the rankings to become the next challenger to Shida’s coveted championship.
Since her AEW debut as Anna Jay’s partner in the Women’s Tag Team Cup Tournament last fall, Tay Conti has emerged as a rising star in the division in the singles ranks and throughout 2021 has demonstrated tremendous growth as a wrestler. There’s never been a question about her athletic abilities, Tay’s accomplishments as a Judoku black belt, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt, and participant in the 2016 Brazilian Olympic team trials are testament to that. Rather it was more the learning curve of her transition into professional wrestling over the last several years, and getting the consistent reps inside the ring to hone her craft. She just keeps getting better with each outing, and the 14-3 record amassed as a singles wrestler in her AEW career has earned Conti the top spot in the rankings, as well as this championship bout on Wednesday night.
Conti and Shida have become quite familiar with one another in recent weeks, uniting in tag team action on multiple actions, and experiencing a modicum of success. Three matches as a tag, one in a trio, and they have scored the victory in three of those four instances; it’s a situation that has allowed each woman to witness first-hand what the other has to offer and has no doubt offered excellent preparation for this DYNAMITE collision!
Will Tay Conti be the one to finally end Hikaru Shida’s historic run, or will the defending champion continue on towards a landmark one year anniversary as the Women’s World Champion? History beckons the winner of this championship contest!