Original plans for AEW women's division revealed
The AEW Women’s division has consistently come under criticism since the foundation of the company. AEW Dynamite did not make the women’s division a significant part of their program, with there being only one segment devoted to women usually.
According to a report by Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Wrestling Inc), the original plan for the AEW women’s division was somewhat different.
Original plans for AEW women's division - Britt Baker and Kylie Rae
Currently, Hikaru Shida is the center of the AEW women’s division, and she is the AEW Women’s World Champion, having held the title for almost six months. However, according to the report by Dave Meltzer, the original plan was not for Hikaru Shida to be the biggest babyface in the women’s division in AEW. Instead, the plan was for AEW to position Britt Baker as the top babyface of the division initially, but it was changed at the last moment.
Meltzer was talking about the recent retirement of Kylie Rae from the pro wrestling world and mentioned Britt Baker as well. There, he said that Britt Baker was the women’s wrestler who was expected to be the major women’s babyface wrestler and ‘The Chosen One’ of the division. AEW executives made that decision due to her character, looks, ability on the mic, and marketability.
The plans had to be dropped in the end when she was turned heel instead, and Shida was made the main babyface.
Meltzer went on to report that the AEW executives were also very hopeful about Kylie Rae. She had participated in a match against Britt Baker, Nyla Rose, and Awesome Kong at the original Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
According to the report, Cody Rhodes was among those who were major fans of Kylie Rae and were vocal in their support of her. However, Kylie Rae requested that she be released from the company and withdrew from Fyter Fest as well.
Rae took a break from pro wrestling and then turned up at IMPACT Wrestling, where she was able to dominate. However, Rae recently announced that she was retiring from pro wrestling in a message that she shared on her Patreon. This came after Kylie Rae did not turn up at the Bound For Glory match for which she was advertised.