AEW: Why Riho needs to retain over Kris Statlander

Many fans are clamoring for Kris Statlander to become the new AEW Women’s Champion, but this is not the right time for Riho to lose her title.

Riho quickly established herself as one of the premiere athletes in AEW in the early days of the company’s inception and became an unlikely fan favorite. Coming out of her debut match at Double Or Nothing with several other joshi stars, an intangible quality was revealed in Riho that drew viewers in droves. The plucky 22-year-old endeared herself to fans with her “never say die” attitude and her ability to inflict serious punishment with her small frame.

She went into her matches with Yuka Sakazaki, Hikaru Shida and Nyla Rose as the obvious fan favorite, and the AEW fanbase rejoiced when she became the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion. The young champ was on top of the world and no one looked close to taking her place as the people’s champion.

That is until she left for several weeks to work a Stardom tour in Japan.

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The fans didn’t turn on Riho, but in her absence, the AEW fanbase looked for a new woman to throw their support behind. But they didn’t just find one…. they found two.

Hikaru Shida seems to have found a solid place in the AEW fan’s hearts as she had several great performances near the end of 2019. Kris Statlander also came into her own as a full-fledged member of the AEW roster during Riho’s absence.

The two competitors even had an intense contest with each other that fans seemed to love. Shida had a title opportunity in the Jan. 1 Fatal Four-Way but she was unsuccessful in dethroning Riho, much to the fan’s dismay.

Statlander is the number one contender now as Riho is set to defend her title in back to back weeks on Wednesday Night Dynamite.

A large section of the AEW fanbase seems to have thrown their support behind the challenger, as Riho’s absence has lowered her stock with some fans. Statlander is seen as a workhorse who is at Dynamite week in and week out, and fans have rewarded her hard work with their support.

A case can be made that to appease fans and strap a rocket to a new hot talent, Statlander should beat Riho for the AEW Women’s Championship.

But there are many reasons that keeping the belt on Riho is a better decision for the company and the women’s division as a whole.

1. Riho needs to have a solid, well booked, and intense feud with a challenger.

Riho has not had a rival or a serious feud with anyone yet and recently two women have come forward and look to be starting feuds with the champ. Nyla Rose has attacked Riho after every match they’ve had with each other and Riho has yet to retaliate.

A well-booked and drawn-out feud between the two young stars would easily elevate them both and could help build up the prestige of the AEW Women’s Title. Britt Baker has also called out the champ for her absence and teased a possible heel turn. A feud exploring Baker’s frustration with Riho could really help her future feuds in the company.

      2. Riho needs to have a long title reign so future champions have a record to beat.

If Riho loses her title to Statlander, then she would have only been champion for 98 days. A long first reign as Women’c Champion would only help Riho and other title challengers. This would also give future champs a record to beat and elevate Riho as the original pillar of the division.

      3. Riho needs to help elevate other young talents before she passes the torch.

Statlander has only been on Dynamite as a roster member for a few weeks so a big title push off the bat could hurt her stock with the All Elite Wrestling faithful. She has the skills and the prescence to be a champion, but imagine how fleshed out her character and her motivations could become if she were to chase the title for a few more months.

Riho is a ring general, and she elevates anyone she is the ring with. Riho as champ is needed so she can mold and elevate other up-and-comers in the division like Big Swole, Penelope Ford, Sadie Gibbs, and Nyla Rose.

Riho is the face of the women’s division, and it is way too early to even think of taking the belt off of her. Fans may turn on Riho if she continues to deflect challengers, but that is a chance AEW needs to take to establish a constant in their women’s division.