In October of last year, it was reported that AEW star Hikaru Shida had been working on renewing her visa. A prior report noted that she spent much of 2025 addressing her visa issues while also dealing with some shoulder problems.
Sean Ross Sapp discussed Shida's current status with AEW on the latest edition of Fightful Select Answers, highlighting that she has not appeared on television for over a year. According to Sapp, Shida's visa issues seem to be resolved, and she has been back in the United States for some time. In January, it was reported that Shida was backstage at an episode of Dynamite in Orlando, Florida, where she resides.
Sapp also mentioned that there is currently no information regarding why Shida has not returned to television. Often, when talent has been absent for a while, it can simply be a case of "out of sight, out of mind."
Shida last competed for AEW in November 2024. Throughout the past year, she participated in several matches in Japan, with her most recent appearance being at Sonoko Kato’s retirement show for OZ Academy on November 23, 2025. During that event, she secured a victory in an eight-person tag match alongside Aja Kong, Chikayo Nagashima, and Nagisa Nozaki against Hiroyo Matsumoto, Rina Yamashita, VENY, and Yuki Kamifuku.
