WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT: FIRST ROUND UNITED STATES BRACKET (#4) Thunder Rosa vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch
During the fall, AEW held the first ever Eliminator Tournament for a shot at the AEW World Title then held by Jon Moxley. It was Kenny Omega who would run through Sonny Kiss, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Hangman Page to win the field before going on to defeat Moxley and claiming the championship.
Starting this week on DYNAMITE, the Women’s division gets their time in the spotlight with the World Title Eliminator kicking off, this time with an international flavor, as the brackets are split between the United States and Japan. Eight women will compete on each side, all vying for a future shot at the AEW Women’s World Title that Hikaru Shida has held since May 23, 2020.
The first bout pits former NWA World Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa against “Legit” Leyla Hirsch in a first time collision of these two athletes. Rosa, at 6-3 in singles competition in AEW, comes into this fight off a devastating loss to Dr. Britt Baker last week at BEACH BREAK. It may have come as a result of some shady tactics from Reba, but after weeks of anticipation and humiliations, to lose to Baker in any fashion is devastating to Rosa. Wednesday night, in this opening match of the United States bracket, is the perfect opportunity for Rosa to rebound from that loss. Unfortunately for her, she faces stiff competition in Leyla Hirsch for this first round battle.
Hirsch, rolling into Wednesday night with a 3-4 record as a singles competitor and coming off a win over February 2nd DARK victory, has squared up with some of the best AEW has to offer in the three months since her debut. Serena Deeb, Hikaru Shida, Penelope Ford, and Britt Baker have all put Hirsch to the test in singles competition and found out first-hand the skill she brings to the table. Leyla is a potentially lethal combination of speed, strength, and amateur grappling skills that make her a threat to any opponent across the ring. All she lacks is experience, with just three years of ring time under her belt, but that being said, in that trio of years, Leyla has traveled to Japan to compete, as well as Canada, Germany, and the UK. Hirsch has made the most of her short time as a pro, and brings a hunger for competition with her into this tournament.
It is no doubt going to be a hard-fought battle this week on DYNAMITE when Leyla Hirsch and Thunder Rosa kick off the Women’s World Title Eliminator Tournament!!!