A new AEW TBS Champion was crowned on Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite after six competitors battled in the first-ever Survival of the Fittest elimination match for the vacant title.
Hikaru Shida emerged victorious in the bout, defeating longtime rival Kris Statlander by referee stoppage to capture the TBS Championship for the first time in her career. The title had been vacated after Willow Nightingale suffered a shoulder injury.
The match featured Shida, Statlander, Persephone, Queen Aminata, Maika and Harley Cameron, all of whom earned their places by winning qualifying matches in recent weeks.
Persephone proved to be one of the standout performers during the early stages of the contest, eliminating both Harley Cameron and Queen Aminata with opportunistic pinfalls to advance to the final three alongside Shida and Statlander.
Statlander then eliminated Persephone, leaving herself and Shida to battle for the vacant championship.
The former tag team partners exchanged near falls before Shida trapped Statlander in an Ankle Lock. With rope breaks not permitted under the match rules, Statlander crawled towards the edge of the ring and grabbed the apron in an attempt to escape.
However, Persephone returned to ringside after her elimination and struck Statlander in the head with the TBS Championship belt, leaving her unable to continue. Shida reapplied the submission hold as the referee called for the bell, awarding her the victory and the vacant TBS Championship.
The order of eliminations saw Persephone eliminate Harley Cameron, Shida eliminate Maika, Persephone eliminate Queen Aminata, Statlander eliminate Persephone, before Shida defeated Statlander to become the new AEW TBS Champion.
Hikaru Shida Captured Her Fourth AEW Title
The championship victory marks Hikaru Shida’s first title reign in AEW since her third run as AEW Women’s World Champion ended in October 2023.
Shida recently competed in a four-way match for the AEW Women’s World Title at AEW Double or Nothing on May 24, but was unable to win, as the current champion, Thekla, retained.
