Female star reveals AEW hired her only for a month - "It is a gamble"

The AEW and ROH women's divisions are packed with talent. There are more than forty active female competitors, and the company often hires international talents to come in and work brief runs. A current champion has just offered details on her status with Tony Khan's companies.

Mina Shirakawa is signed to Stardom and has been there since 2020. The 36-year-old also appears for AEW, ROH, NJPW, and RevPro, where she is the current Undisputed British Women's Champion. Mina won her ROH in-ring debut over Anna Jay in March but failed to dethrone Toni Storm of the AEW Women's World Championship at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

The Venus returned in August with ROH wins over Rachael Ellering and Taya Valkyrie, plus AEW Rampage wins over Robyn Renegade and Missa Kate. AEW then aired a Dynamite vignette for Shirakawa, where she responded to The Glamour and said she was coming soon.

Shirakawa recently spoke with Proresu Today and was asked about her tour of the United States, which included an NJPW appearance, plus a trip back to London for RevPro. The six-year industry veteran mentioned how AEW offered to bring her in for one month, but it seems the month may be starting soon as she's already returned to Japan for four Stardom shows this month:

"This is already a gamble. It's a gamble to make myself shine. I'm not getting any younger, so I'm always thinking about what I need to do to make my way up in the limited time I have. If I refuse the offer, there may not be another. I had a gut feeling and decided to go. However, the offer from AEW was simply that they wanted me to come for one month. That was it, nothing specific about matches I'll be in or how many. There was even a possibility that no matches would happen. We didn't know until we got there," Mina Shirakawa said via DeepL Translate.

Shirakawa is rumored to show up at Wednesday's Dynamite: Grand Slam special, where May will defend her Women's World Championship against Yuka Sakazaki. While not confirmed, Shirakawa vs. May could then take place at WrestleDream on October 12.

The former Goddess Of Stardom Champions have teamed up more than sixty times since 2023, but their only singles bout took place in August 2023 as part of the 5-STAR Grand Prix and was won by May.

---

AEW Grand Slam 2024 updated lineups

All Elite Wrestling will present its 2024 Grand Slam specials next week. Dynamite will air live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NYC on Wednesday, while the inaugural Collision: Grand Slam will be taped that night to air on Saturday.

Officials have confirmed that Mariah May will defend the Women's World Championship against Yuka Sakazaki on Dynamite. Below is the updated lineup for Wednesday:

1. Non-Title Match: World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (if Danielson is medically cleared)
2. Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley (Allin's guaranteed World Championship shot will be on the line)
3. World Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher
4. Women's World Championship Match: Mariah May (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki

All Elite Wrestling has confirmed two other matches to take place on Wednesday, but it's still not clear if they will air on Dynamite or Collision. FTW Champion Hook is set to defend against Roderick Strong, while The Blackpool Combat Club will defend the World Trios Championship in an Open Challenge.