AEW’s women’s division has been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The promotion’s first ever women’s champion, Riho, has not wrestled for AEW since mid-March. Britt Baker and Kris Statlander both suffered major injuries are are currently unable to wrestle. That leaves Hikaru Shida and Nyla Rose as the two stars who have been most prominently featured in the ring.
Penelope Ford and Big Swole appear next in the AEW rankings, but Swole received a kayfabe suspension on last night’s (July 8) episode of Dynamite. It turns out that kidnapping wrestlers is forbidden in AEW.
As we just informed @SwoleWorld on #AEWDynamite via formal letter, Big Swole has been suspended from AEW for kidnapping Dr. Britt Baker. Wrestlers can’t kidnap each other. We asked Swole to go home to cool off. Swole’s an important member of our team, and we’ll see her back soon.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) July 9, 2020
The current AEW women’s champion expressed some dismay at the reality that she is running out of opponents:
Many wrestlers can’t fly to the US because of COVID-19 for months,
— HIKARU SHIDA 志田 光 (@shidahikaru) July 9, 2020
2 injured wrestlers, and now @SwoleWorld !?!? #AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT https://t.co/Obtk8SNxYn
In response, Tony Khan reassured Shida that he’s searching for new talent for her to face.
Swole will be back soon, and with travel disrupting the division, we’re searching for additional domestic challengers worthy of facing you to create more competition for you, champ. Thank you!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) July 9, 2020
How do you think AEW should fix this problem?