Fans wanting to see Riho back in the ring will have to keep waiting as the former AEW Women’s World Champion is currently in Japan to renew her work Visa.
Despite being one of the earliest names signed to AEW, fans haven’t seen much of Riho as of late. In a social media post, the inaugural AEW Women’s World Champion shared that she’s currently in Japan and is waiting for her Visa to be renewed. Riho added that she does not know when she will be returning to AEW programming.
Riho has competed just seven times for AEW over the past 12 months. Her most recent match was on the AEW Dynamite ‘Big Business’ show in March of 2024. She was defeated by Willow Nightingale.
Visa Issues
Riho Isn’t the only name to be dealing with Visa issues. Jay White was absent from AEW’s recent events in Canada and it was reported that was due to Visa problems prohibiting him from working in the Great White North.
Rush’s most recent match for AEW was at Worlds End and saw him on the losing side of an eight-man tag-team match. Not only is Rush dealing with Visa issues, but he has also been recovering from an injury.
Katsutori Shibata had to return to Japan in November 2023 due to Visa issues. This resulted in him relinquishing the Ring of Honor PURE Championship to Wheeler Yuta. This was hardly the biggest setback of his career though, as Shibata nearly died after a match with Kazuchika Okada in 2017. He now plans to end his wrestling career with AEW.
Visa issues are an unfortunate side-effect of wrestlers who seek success outside of their home country. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Riho has things sorted and is back in an AEW ring once more.
