A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter indicated that former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will be taking time away from the company to return to Japan.

Now, Shida herself has corroborated that report, posting photos of herself traveling as well as quarantining herself upon arrival.

“Time to leave,” she writes as she waits, masked up, in the airport.

“Just arrived at Japan! Gonna get rest my knee and whole body during quarantine,” she stated in the other.

This last week’s AEW Dynamite saw Serena Deeb, Shida’s bitter rival as of late, viciously attacking her knee to write her off of television. The two women are now tied with victories in their series of matches at 2 – 2, and one can assume that they will settle the score upon her return.

Hikaru Shida was a staple of AEW during the pandemic era, reigning as the longest AEW Women’s Champion in history for over 370 days. Her record stands to this day, with the current AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker closer to 180 days at the time of this writing.

There is no known date for Hikaru Shida’s return to the US, but we will keep you updated. Stay tuned for more on Shida.

You can see the photos from Twitter below: