Mina Shirakawa Assesses Her Place In AEW Women's Division, Goals For 2025

Thanks to AEW's working relationship with STARDOM, fans across the world have gotten to witness the rise of Mina Shirakawa in the United States. The Japanese star has picked up big wins over the likes of Serena Deeb, Anna Jay, and Emi Sakura in 2024, with her only two losses in AEW coming in matches for the Women's World Championship against Toni Storm and Mariah May respectively. During a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, Shirakawa assessed her position in the AEW women's division heading into 2025, and what she hopes to bring to women's wrestling in North America.

"I have been a champion in Japan, and I have been a champion in the UK, but I have not been a champion in the US. So yeah, I should be a champion in the US, and I feel — I truly believe Japanese joshi wrestling skill is so good, so fantastic, so it's my mission to show our skill to AEW fans. I show my skill, and I take the belt, and I will be the top of AEW. It's my dream." Shirakawa also mentioned that she believes the AEW women's division is filled with strong, beautiful women, citing the likes of Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida as dream opponents for the future.

However, her ultimate goal for 2025 is simple, she wants gold. "Of course I want to be a champion in the US. I want [the] AEW Women's World Championship, and I want [the] New Japan Strong women's belt..." Shirakawa will get her shot at the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5, when she challenges Mercedes Mone in a match where Shirakawa's RevPro Undisputed British Women's Championship will also be on the line.

Please credit Denise Salcedo when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.