AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament: Show 3 Review - February 28, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Women's Champion Hikaru Shida, Mei Suruga and Rin Kadokura def. Emi Sakura, Veny and Maki Itoh

This was a nice showcase for some of the joshi wrestlers we've seen compete in the Japan side of the AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament bracket on the last two shows. As I've said before, Shida's presence on the past two shows would explain why she's been off Dynamite for almost two months. This was a well-wrestled affair that received plenty of time and was entertaining for its wrestling and comedic moments. It won't be for everyone, but at least they didn't go overboard with it. I can almost guarantee we'll be seeing some of these women again in AEW once it becomes easier to travel to the United States.

Ryo Mizunami def. Yuka Sakazaki in an AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament Semifinal Match

​Both of these women are very talented, so unsurprisingly, this was a good match. I was happy that similar to the opener they received as much time as they did. Sakazaki was my pick to advance because she's competed for AEW on multiple occasions, so Mizunami winning was a surprise. That said, she's charismatic and is bound to get a great match out of whoever wins the United States side of the bracket the same way Sakazaki would have. I just don't think I want her winning the whole thing simply because we know she wouldn't take the title from Shida at Revolution.

Thunder Rosa def. Riho in an AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Rosa has been awesome since coming to AEW, but I figured this match was Riho's to win because of how Riho just returned, is a former AEW World Women's Champion and has history with Shida from All Out 2019. Thus, you can imagine how shocked I was when Rosa won instead. Hey, I'm not complaining, but it leaves me wondering if AEW is setting up for a Rosa title win followed by Britt Baker challenging for the championship because she previously beat Rosa at Beach Break. Either way, this was another enjoyable outing. Rosa will face Nyla Rose in the U.S. bracket finals (the semifinals overall) tomorrow night on YouTube and the winner will advance to Wednesday's Dynamite to face Mizunami.

Overall Show

This show originally aired on BleacherReport.com but is also available on YouTube because some international fans encountered issues while attempting to stream it. It was once again just over an hour long, which was the perfect length. All three matches were entertaining per usual and the two tourney matches featured surprising outcomes. While I maintain that AEW should have done a better job of spacing the U.S. bracket out on Dynamite, the action has delivered thus far and is easily the best thing AEW has done with their women to date.