Three time AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida was recently spotted backstage at an AEW event, sparking renewed discussion about her status with the company.

According to Fightful Select, Shida was backstage at AEW’s Wednesday night show in Orlando Florida. The visit was described as informal, with the report noting that Shida currently resides in the Orlando area and was not at the venue in an official capacity.

Shida has not competed for AEW in over a year. Her most recent AEW match took place on the November 20 2024 episode of AEW Dynamite, where she was defeated by Kris Statlander. That bout also marked her last wrestling appearance outside of Japan, as ongoing visa complications kept her sidelined throughout much of 2025.

In October, Shida publicly confirmed that her visa issues had been resolved and announced that she had signed a new deal with AEW. Despite that update, she has yet to return to in ring action in the United States, leaving fans waiting for her official comeback.

While absent from AEW programming, Shida remained active in Japan. She competed at Korakuen Hall twice in November, first working a ZERO1 event on November 10 and later appearing for OZ Academy on November 23 as part of Sonoko Kato’s retirement show.

With her visa situation resolved and her presence once again being felt backstage, questions continue to grow about when Shida will finally make her long awaited return to AEW television.

Thank you for watching my live stream!
It was so much fun even its demo yet!!
Can’t wait to play main game 🤩
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ライブ配信ご視聴ありがとうございました！！体験版だけなのにすごい楽しかった！本編が待ちきれませんなぁ🤭#龍が如く極3体験版 #YakuzaKiwami3 #SHIDAtube pic.twitter.com/YRh3t4zGaN

, HIKARU SHIDA 志田 光 (@shidahikaru) January 23, 2026