AEW has crowned a brand-new TBS Champion after a six-woman match on the July 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. With Willow Nightingale forced to vacate the title because of a shoulder injury, six competitors battled in the first-ever Survival of the Fittest match in AEW history. After a lot of eliminations and twists, Hikaru Shida finally won the Championship for the first time.
The match featured Harley Cameron, Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, Maika, Persephone, and Queen Aminata. It was an elimination match where wrestlers had to score pinfalls or submissions to stay alive. The last woman standing would become the new AEW TBS Champion.
The action started immediately, with all six women fighting across the ring. Shida almost picked up the first elimination with a quick roll-up before Harley Cameron and Persephone briefly worked together to slow her down.
Controversial finish seals Hikaru Shida’s TBS Championship victory
The first elimination came when Persephone countered Harley Cameron and hit her with a Razor’s Edge to get the three-count. Right after that, Kris Statlander attacked Persephone with a powerful Olympic Slam.
As the match went on, Maika and Statlander traded heavy shots. Shida even hit Statlander with a kendo stick. After trading some suplexes, Shida caught Maika with a jackknife pin to eliminate her, cutting the field down to four.
Queen Aminata then assumed control. She hit Shida with several hard shots. Statlander interfered. Shida tried to get back but got hit by Aminata. After some tussling, Shida tried to hit a suplex but got countered by a big headbutt from Aminata.
As she tried to capitalize on the moment, Persephone took advantage of the situation. She rolled Aminata up with a folding press to score another surprise elimination.
As the match reached its final stages, only Statlander, Shida, and Persephone remained. The three exchanged near falls and big moves, with Statlander using her power and Shida relying on her striking and technical skills. Persephone kept looking for another surprise pin, but Statlander finally eliminated her with a victory roll.
That left Shida and Statlander.
Both women traded counters, submissions, and signature moves. Shida hit a Falcon Arrow that nearly ended the match. She even tried using the championship belt as a weapon, but Statlander avoided the shot and fought back.
The finish came when Shida locked Statlander in a tight ankle lock. Statlander tried crawling toward the ropes to escape. But before she could get there, Persephone returned and smashed Statlander in the head with the TBS Championship belt.
The attack left Statlander unable to defend herself. Shida kept the ankle lock applied while trapping Statlander’s arm around her neck with a modified submission. With Statlander unable to continue after the belt shot, the referee stopped the match.
With that, Hikaru Shida was officially declared the new AEW TBS Champion.
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