One of the biggest criticisms that fans have had towards AEW so far has been about the women's division, and how it has been booked. While there have certainly been some moments that the company has got wrong with the division, the talent involved is undeniable.

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As a result of that, the matches for the AEW Women's Championship have often been fantastic. While some of the title matches have ended up being quite forgettable, the lineage of the belt is strong and the heavily promoted matches have often ended up being fantastic to watch, creating some of the best bouts in AEW history.

10 Hikaru Shida vs. Big Swole (AEW Dynamite, 10/14/20)

Hikaru Shida in AEW

This wasn't anything overly special in comparison to some of the other fantastic AEW Women's Championship matches, but it was a solid bout. The problem with this was that there was a lack of real story heading into the bout.

However, the match itself was entertaining, with Big Swole putting in a great effort throughout this match in a bid to try and prove herself. She fought hard and that was easy to buy into from a fan perspective, which helped this match.

9 Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami (Revolution, 2021)

Hikaru Shida with a stiff knee strike Cropped

Something that Hikaru Shida has always brought to the ring is hard-hitting action with very stiff strikes, and Ryo Mizunami was someone who could match her in that department.

That led to their title match being a physical encounter that truly brought the best out in each woman. This is one of the stiffest matches that has happened in the AEW women's division, and it helped it become one of the best. This is a pairing AEW should definite consider returning to down the line.

8 Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (Full Gear, 2020)

Hikaru Shida as AEW Women's Champion

Hikaru Shida and Nyla Rose had competed prior to this and built up a fair amount of chemistry together. While this wasn't their best bout, it was certainly an impressive match between the two.

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This one was more of a wrestling contest than their other interactions, with Hikaru Shida spending most of the time trying to chop down Nyla Rose, working out different ways to take down her challenger, which was made a compelling story for fans to buy into.

7 Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida (Double Or Nothing, 2020)

Hikaru Shida and Nyla Rose brawling Cropped

This one was a No Disqualification match and Nyla Rose and Hikaru Shida made the most of that stipulation. Shida was able to rally hard as an underdog and that was a simple story for the two of them to tell.

They used the ringside area perfectly and truly pushed each other to their limits. It was hard-hitting and utilizing the stipulation really added to this one, making this a brawl rather than a classic wrestling match, which was the right call.

6 Riho vs. Emi Sakura (Full Gear, 2019)

Riho retains the AEW Women's Championship

Riho and Emi Sakura were able to tell a unique story due to their past together, with Emi being a mentor of Riho's. That allowed her to actually know some of the moves that Riho was going to hit ahead of time and act quite cocky throughout the encounter as well.

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She knew the champion's weaknesses and even though Emi wasn't a majorly featured part of AEW, the two of them told a terrific story. Riho really had to dig deep to get the hard fought win.

5 Riho vs. Nyla Rose (AEW Dynamite, 2/12/20)

Nyla Rose facing Riho

This match took place on the first-ever episode of AEW Dynamite and saw Riho capture the vacant title. With it being the inaugural title match, both women worked hard to make it memorable and the fans provided a fantastic atmosphere for it as well.

They worked a strong David vs. Goliath story here with Nyla Rose dominating the vast majority of the match. However, that worked in their favor, with Riho having to fight from beneath to work out a way of defeating the stronger opponent.

4 Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti (AEW Dynamite, 4/21/21)

Hikaru Shida hitting a knee strike on Tay Conti

Tay Conti is another wrestler who has worked her way up the card to become a genuine title threat this year. When given the opportunity, the former NXT star made the most of it, pushing Hikaru Shida all the way.

The match itself was a real moment for her as Conti gave as good as she got. Everyone knew how good Shida was at this point in time, but this was a showcase for Conti and she was able to match Shida, connecting with her own strikes that looked just as good.

3 Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford  (Fyter Fest 2020 Night One)

Hikaru Shida slaps Penelope Ford

Because Penelope Ford has spent so much time focused on being a manager in AEW, fans haven't always given her the right amount of credit for her wrestling ability. However, that all changed after this match.

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Ford absolutely stepped up and proved she was as capable as anybody else on the roster. She and Hikaru Shida put together a fantastic match filled with great spots, with Ford genuinely coming close to capturing the gold at several points.

2 Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa (All Out, 2020)

Thunder Rosa taunts Hikaru Shida

Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa have been two of the best performers in AEW's early history and putting them together led to a fantastic match. They were given almost 20 minutes to work and they made the most of it all.

They featured in a lot of stiff strikes in this one, making it as physical as possible right from the start, which helped make this match an incredibly exciting one. Thunder Rosa was at her impervious best, while Shida managed to put in yet another fantastic performance.

1 Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker (Double or Nothing, 2021)

Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker face off

The best AEW Women's Championship match to take place so far has been the night Britt Baker finally got her hands on the title. Hikaru Shida was such a dominant champion that all of her defenses were believable at this point, with nobody expecting her to truly drop the title.

However, Baker headed into this match with huge confidence and the two women went back and forth with amazing action. There were some amazing near falls in this one, and the intensity that they brought really helped to make this an unforgettable encounter.

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