Three Challengers for Riho’s Women’s Title at AEW ‘Full Gear’

2. Bea Priestley

The aforementioned Priestley (1-2) would make a tremendous opponent for Riho at ‘Full Gear’ for a myriad of reasons.

For starters, we’re not leaving out the possibility of a triple threat match with rival Dr. Britt Baker as the other opponent. A DQ or a draw between Baker or Priestley could potentially set up a three-way title match.

Secondly, Bea Priestley – having previously locked horns with Riho in Stardom and in a pair of AEW tag matches – would make for a compelling one on one match on AEW soil. Her familiarity with the joshi style could help the two produce one of the best matches on the card.

This is, unfortunately, the least likely match-up of the three entries on the list based on the fact we’ve yet to see Priestley in singles action. Currently, she is the only woman on the roster who has no single matches on her record.

1. Hikaru Shida

Again, these are the after effects of a very thin AEW women’s division.

The two Japanese performers faced off at ‘All Out’ on Aug. 31 and we haven’t seen Hikaru Shida on an AEW broadcast since. That’s all about to change since Shida has officially made the trip to the west and is beginning her American professional wrestling journey with All Elite.

There hasn’t been much of a storyline built towards anything regarding a Women’s Championship match at ‘Full Gear’ and it would take a pair of matches on Dynamite for AEW to create an alluring narrative.

What helps is the two have previously met in an AEW ring, both familiar with the joshi style and have proven they can put on a fluid, riveting pay-per-view quality match. Give them little to no motive for clashing and they’ll still come out as two of the top performers of the night.

That could be said for all of the joshi matches we’ve seen so far.

What about you? Who meets Riho for the AEW Women’s Title at ‘Full Gear’? Comment below.