Jamie Hayter vs Hikura Shida

Jamie Hayter picks up Toni Storm’s mantel as women’s champion who delivers bangers and while I, personally, consider Toni Storm to be AEW’s ‘Ace’ of the women’s division, there’s no denying that Hayter has significantly more heat.

The massively talented Hikaru Shida can bring it but, and I’ve seen others have this opinion as well, I feel like she sometimes pulls her strikes too much in some matches. And maybe that’s just her toning down the Joshi-style for some North American wrestlers—I don’t know—but you knew that in a match with Jamie Hayter, she’d be laying them in stiff!

Overall Thoughts

I’ll just give my initial reaction before breaking down some of the details. This was one of those women’s matches where my emotional response transcended the actual action and story being told in the ring because I couldn’t help but get caught up in what an enormous triumph this was for AEW’s women’s division. It was in the main event, following a VERY uneven talking segment that could’ve flattened the crowd but that never happened. This crowd was ravenous! I think any time there’s a highly profiled women’s match like this in AEW, I can’t help but try to will it to be good. And this match had my brain flipping back and forth between thoughts of “They’re really doing it!” and “Holy shit that was snug!” 

Alright, let’s get into it.

The Match

Excalibur puts over Shida’s title reign during the pandemic that unfortunately ended just as crowds were coming back. This is always great to bring up since I think the sentiment only increases fan’s appetite for a 2nd title reign. This match is immediately given a big match feel with all the pomp and circumstance of Justin Roberts doing the Buffer call. And within seconds of the bell ringing, the tone is set.

early & often

The first strikes off these matches are laid in so hard you’d almost think this thing’s gonna go 5-minutes. I definitely got the feeling from the crowd that they respect, admire and adore Hikaru Shida but they flat out are in love with Jamie Hayter to where if they thought Hayter’s title was in jeopardy at all, Shida might get a less favourable response, so the timing for this match is smart.

There’s an early running knee strike from Shida during the first commercial break that was so flush, my heart was in my throat for half a second thinking she may have just legit knocked Hayter out. Jamie also does some great heel work on the floor during this break, kissing her title, running Shida around 3 sides of the ring before slamming her into the barricade and then doing lunges for the crowd. Great stuff.

brutal apron & floor action

Both women return to the ring upon coming back from commercial break. After some good back and forth, the fight spills onto the apron as Shida takes a nasty snap mare from the turnbuckle onto apron. Hayter teases German suplexing Shida off the apron away from the ring like Kurt Angle used to do. Just once I want to see someone hit this. And finally Shida suplexes Shida off the apron onto the floor. Fucking ouch.

Kill Or Be Killed

The match returns to forearms, kicks and knees, all of which look like death! Shida’s top turnbuckle meteora looks sick! And this is all happening during another commercial break!

Hayter fainting to avoid the Katana was a great spot. Her facials are very un-WWE-like where she’s visibly frustrated at being unable to put away Shida but she’s not doing the corny “shocked” face. The match turns a corner when Hayter signals that it’s Hayterade time (her ripcord lariat) but Shida stops her dead with another jumping knee flush under the chin that had me trying to look into Jamie’s eyes, it just looked like such a knockout blow.

Britt gets onto the apron with Shida’s kendo stick and absolutely eats a beating from Hikaru Shida. Shida goes for a Venus shoot but Jamie catches her. Goes for the power bomb but Shida turns it into a head scissors take down which Hayter counters the counter-counter-counter by rolling through and picking up Shida from the mat and finally getting her power bomb in! Jesus, what a sequence finished by a seriously impressive feat of strength by Hayter at which I’ve shot up out of my chair like a sleeper agent who’s just heard his trigger phrase.

Hayter only gets two. She hits a running lariat. Still only two. The crowd is unhinged. Finally, Jamie picks up Shida, who looks like she’s just in agony, and hits the Hayterade, gets the three and retains. Jamie looks dead on her feet as she’s held up by Britt and Rebel but collapses when they leave her to attack Shida. What’s really important to you Britt?

Post-Match

Of course post-match Saraya comes out, murders Rebel on the ramp with a clothesline, hits a mean thrust kick on Britt clearing the ring as the babyfaces stand tall in the ring.

I’ve heard a lot of fans say online that this was the greatest women’s match ever in AEW. Without rewatching anything, my feeling is it’s a hair below Hayter vs Storm at Full Gear and Britt vs Thunder Rosa at St. Patrick’s Day Slam 2021 but, look, if it’s recency bias that’s not a bad thing. When we have recency bias it means we’ve experienced a true classic that’s going to live with you for some time.