Hikaru Shida signs multiyear AEW deal and renews visa, not retiring

Hikaru Shida said Friday that she has renewed both her work visa and her contract with All Elite Wrestling, ending months of uncertainty about her status and confirming she is not retiring. Shida made the announcement during a YouTube livestream on October 3, 2025, saying her recent appearance in a Japanese stage play prompted fans to ask whether she was leaving wrestling. She said those questions were unfounded and that she plans to remain active with the promotion.

Shida told viewers, "Of course it is just a play. I am not retiring. I just renewed my visa and contract, so I am not retiring." She also described the role as demanding, calling it the hardest stage play in her decade-long theatrical work and saying the strong reaction from fans showed her acting was convincing. The production, staged from September 18 to 21, centered on a wrestler who announces retirement, which supporters say led to the confusion.

Reports say Shida's new deal is multiyear, and that her visa renewal has cleared the administrative barrier that kept her off U.S. television since November 2024. Her prolonged absence had been attributed to visa issues rather than injury. Social media posts and a...