At AEW Full Gear Mariah May got the surprise of a lifetime during her Women’s Championship champagne celebration. Accompanied by Mina Shirakawa, her original mentor and one of her best friends, her friend got one over her, leaving her stunned and bloody. Shirakawa avoided the broken champagne bottle and instead kicked May in the head, then threw her through a table off the stage.
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May has turned on everyone close to her so this was no surprise and AEW fans are behind Shirakawa, so this is a great wrinkle to the story. Toni Storm has also “retired” from the ring, so perhaps Shirakawa is seeking revenge for Storm? Or is she just trying to humble May a bit?
Nevertheless, this is the first match announced for AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming and it’s a worthy one. May’s storyline with Shirakawa and Storm has been a bright spot in the women’s division over the last year and it feels like this will ultimately lead to Storm coming out of “retirement” at some point, but she’s earned the time off.
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Shirakawa debuted for AEW earlier this year and she recently explained that she’s hoping to spend more time in the United States. It’s hard to imagine she won’t have some kind of involvement in the upcoming Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view as well, uniting AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, CMLL, and STARDOM.
May won the AEW Women’s World Championship from Storm at AEW All In London after turning on her when she won the women’s Owen Hart Cup. So far in her reign, her best feud has come from Anna Jay. The two recently put on a brutal yet impressive display on an episode of Collision. The women went to war in a No Disqualification match, putting Jay back on the map and reigniting May’s title reign that had started to deflate a bit.
May’s not out of the woods yet, however. If she manages to overcome Shirakawa she could have Jamie Hayter, Willow Nightingale, Serena Deeb, or perhaps a woman from another promotion coming after her.
Stay tuned to ComicBook for news and updates on AEW.
