Kris Statlander Replaces Hikaru Shida In Women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament
Her match takes place next week
Kris Statlander has been entered into the women's Owen Hart Foundation Cup tournament, due to a reported injury on the part of one of the entrants.
During Friday's AEW Rampage, it was announced that Hikaru Shida had been pulled from the tournament due to injury. She was due to wrestle Red Velvet in the quarterfinal round of the tournament.
Statlander was then announced as Velvet's new opponent, with the match taking place on the May 20 edition of Rampage. The winner will go on to the semifinals to face Ruby Soho (who defeated Riho on Friday's broadcast).
Shida was said to be out with injury following her loss to Serena Deeb on the April 27 Dynamite. However, following the announcement on Rampage, Shida tweeted with apparent confusion, noting she's wrestled in Japan since that loss to Deeb, and apologized for getting pulled from the tournament.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful has since tweeted, "Everyone at AEW I've spoken to is under the impression Shida was aware she'd not be in the tournament before tonight. I assume we'll learn more or she'll clarify one way or another", which seems to indicate that Shida's tweet may have a storyline purpose.
Both Soho and Toni Storm have advanced to the semifinals. Soho faces the winner of Statlander vs. Red Velvet, while Storm faces the winner of Dr. Britt Baker vs. the unnamed "Joker" entrant.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.