The AEW Women’s division has faced some criticism over the years, but there is no doubt that it has produced some of the best women’s matches in history.
Some of the best wrestlers in the world, like Hikaru Shida, Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm, have all lead the division as its champion, putting on some of the best AEW Women’s matches ever during their reigns.
Fans have been conditioned by decades of WWE booking to see the women’s matches as a pee break, but AEW have managed to put the female superstars in huge main event matches, to which they always deliver.
In this article, we’ll look at the best AEW Women’s matches in history, according to the ranking given to them by fans of Cagematch.net.
10. Hikaru Shida vs Penelope Ford, Fyter Fest 2020 (7.94)
In a rare chance to shine in a high-profile single match, Penelope Ford pulled out a performance of a lifetime against Hikaru Shida (who we will be seeing a lot more of in this article).
At AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest, Ford showed exactly what Tony Khan saw in her from the start of AEW, hanging with one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world in a great match.
In just 11 minutes, they told a good story in a fun match that not only put over Shida as a fighting champion, but made Penelope Ford look like a reasonably dangerous challenger, making up for a year of bad booking prior.
9. Hikaru Shida vs Tay Conti,AEW Dynamite #81 (8.02 Rating)
Tay Conti’s best match in AEW came on Dynamite in 2021, when she clashed with champion Hikaru Shida over the AEW Women’s title.
She helped make Tay look a million dollars in this match, with her experience in Kendo mashing well with the Brazilian’s Judo background.
The bout was a surprisingly fast and crisp one, with many great high spots and innovative counters that few were expecting.
It should amazing potential was Conti (now Tay Melo), who had come a long way since her WWE release just one year prior.
8. Hikaru Shida vs Ryo Mizunami, AEW Revolution 2021 (8.06 Rating)
After winning the tournament to earn her shot at Hikaru Shida, Ryo Mizunami staked her claim as one of the best wrestlers in the world at AEW Revolution 2021.
The all-Japanese clash wowed fans in Jacksonville, who had never seen a women’s match like it. The two women both worked their characters well into this workrate-heavy match, showing why they both deserve to be huge stars in AEW.
Ryo Mizunami showed huge disrespect toward Shida by dancing at the beginning of the match, leading to a fantastic comeback by the champion and helping her to retain her AEW Women’s Championship.
7. Emi Sakura vs. VENY, AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament (8.13 Rating)
This clash between two non-AEW talent seems slightly like it is cheating, but as it took place on an AEW event, it counts as one of the best AEW matches.
While having no crowd present (due to the pandemic), the wrestlers managed to work around the quiet by bringing the energy in this fasntastic all-Japanese match.
This match was part of the AEW Women’s Championship eliminator tournament (with Emi Sakura winning the tournament), and made both Sakura and VENY look incredible, for fans who had never seen them before.
6. Hikaru Shida vs Nyla Rose, AEW Double or Nothing 2020 (8.13 Rating)
Hikaru Shida won the AEW Women’s Championship for the first time at Double or Nothing 2020, taking the belt from the dominant Nyla Rose.
Using her immense power and weigth advantage, Rose dominated the ring from the word go, throwing Shida around like a rag doll.
However, it was the speed and cunning of the Japanese star, who used the “No Disqualification” stipulation to her advantage, making use of her training with Kendo Sticks.
After a hard fought bought that took both women to their very limit, it took a last Shining Wizard by Hikaru Shida to put away Nyla Rose in one of the best AEW women’s matches of all time.
5. Emi Sakura vs Jamie Hayter, AEW Rampage #77 (8.21 Rating)
Jamie Hayter earns her spot on this list for the first time with her clash against Japanese icon Emi Sakura on AEW Rampage.
While a forgotten classic, Sakura showed why she is revered in her home country. She matched the Englishwoman blow for blow, hitting some of the biggest shots ever seen in an AEW women’s match.
This wasn’t a technical masterpiece with endless counters. It was a true brawl, with big, sluggish hits that looked like they would knock your head out.
It felt more like a Minoru Suzuki match, with lariats, chops and suplexes the main source of entertainment from this match.
In the end, Jamie Hayter managed to kick out of a Tiger Driver, Moonsault and Dragon Suplex before a “Hayteraid” helped her pick up the win over Emi Sakura.
4. Emi Sakura, Maki Itoh & VENY vs. Hikaru Shida, Mei Suruga & Rin Kadokura, AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament (8.52 Rating)
One of the matches on this you probably didn’t know existed is the all-Japanese six-woman clash from the AEW Women’s championship event, exclusively on Youtube.
The show featured a live main event of Thunder Rosa vs Riho, but had two undercard matches that were taped earlier in Saitama, Japan.
One of these was a six-woman tag team match that stole the show. Emi Sakura, Maki Itoh & VENY took on the trio of Hikaru Shida, Mei Suruga & Rin Kadokura in a fantastic match that showcased Joshi wrestling at its finest.
This match was unlike anything ever seen before in AEW. The match had many incredible sequences that, while maybe more common in Japan, were brand new to the American audience.
The women were faster, more technical and more brutal than their American counterparts, owing to the culture of female wrestlers in Japan.
This led to one of the best women’s matches in AEW history, although sadly most of the women would not be signed full time to AEW after this match.
3. Britt Baker vs Thunder Rosa, St. Patrick’s Day Slam 2021 (8.74 Rating)
For years, many have heralded Britt Baker vs Thunder Rosa as the best women’s match in AEW history.
And while it did receive a 4.75 star rating from Dave Meltzer, Cagematch users only voted it as the third best match in the companies history.
It was a “lights-out” match. It’s a concept created by AEW, where a grudge match can take place irrespective of the rankings.
This means that, even thought Thunder Rosa picked up the win, she did not advance any higher in the AEW Women’s World Championship rankings.
The match was brutal. Kendo sticks, chairs, tables and even thumbtacks were beat down their opponents.
The lasting image of Britt Baker, smiling as she licks her own blood from her lips is everlasting. It even became a best-selling t-shirt.
The brutality of this match is one that hadn’t been seen before in the AEW Women’s division. It was the best Lights Out match the company ever produced, beating out Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega, which did not make this list.
2. Hikaru Shida vs Serena Deeb, AEW Dynamite #108 (8.75 Rating)
A classic match – not just for women, but in AEW as a whole – saw Serena Deeb and Hikaru Shida battle on AEW Dynamite.
Serena Deeb showed why she is one of the most underrated women on the roster, wrestling a Bryan Danielson-style bout as she tried to wear down the leg of Shida, in hopes of increasing her chances to win the match.
She had counters to everything Shida did, although the pair both had some brilliant counters to each others signature moves that kept the crowd on the edge of their seat throughout.
For a ten-minute match, they managed to tell a fantastic story, built around the potential injury to Hikaru Shida’s knee.
This is one match you need to go out of your way to watch, and not just for fans of women’s wrestling, but professional wrestling in general.
1. Hikaru Shida vs Jamie Hayter, Holiday Bash 2022 (9.21 Rating)
This list should really just be “Hikaru Shida’s best matches”, as she continues to dominate the list with the best women’s match in AEW history.
For the top match on this list, we look at her clash with Jamie Hayter over the AEW Women’s Championship at AEW Holiday Bash 2022, which is by far the highest rated AEW Women’s match on Cagematch.
Jamue Hayter defended her AEW Women’s Championship against the former champion Hikaru Shida, in one of the most hard-hitting matches in AEW history.
Both women brought everything they could to the table, doing their best to wear down the other in the main event of Dynamite.
The match was a true slug fest, a “bowling shoe ugly” match that saw neither woman hold back in their quest to inflict as much pain as they could.
The selling on offer was godly, with both competitors looking close to death by the end. The strikes were slug, deadly looking, and Hayter even repeatedly collapsed at the end to avoid further pain.
Jamie Hayter needed help from Britt Baker to win the match, but only after Hikaru Shida managed to kick out of a huge lariat, before a Rainmaker put her away for good at the end of this AEW Women epic.