AEW Full Gear preview: Riho vs. Emi Sakura Women’s Championship match

In a highly anticipated first singles meeting for the two in AEW, Riho defends her AEW Women’s Championship against her former mentor Emi Sakura.

Riho has quickly solidified herself as the ace of the fledgling AEW women’s division. The Women’s Champion has defeated the biggest names in the division in Nyla Rose and Britt Baker and has kept an undefeated record on Dynamite.

That is, until this past Wednesday when Riho was pinned by Emi Sakura

Sakura is a 24-year veteran who has established herself as one of the greatest women’s wrestlers in the history of Japanese wrestling. Sakura has continued to wrestle in the latter parts of her career but she has also refocused some of her attention to training a new generation of wrestlers.

And her prize student was Riho.

These two have known each for years as Riho has been Sakura’s protege and greatest success as a student. The two women faced off in Riho’s last match in her home promotion, Gatoh Move, and Sakura came out victorious.

Now Sakura has followed her ace student to her new home in AEW and looks to take the title that Riho has sacrificed so much to attain. Sakura has also shown that she is willing to cheat and fight dirty to best her former student. Sakura is coming in guns blazing and will be pulling out every trick she can think of.

Riho is on her back foot as she lost her Dynamite undefeated streak to Sakura and seems to have allowed Sakura to mess with her head. But Riho has made a career out of fighting against the odds and never saying die. Riho will be almost impossible to put down and she will also be looking for her former teacher to cheat to take away her title.

Both these women know each other so well and are so evenly matches but fans can deduce that Riho will most likely come away with the win in this contest. But that being said Sakura will not be easy to put down and if anyone knows that, it’s Riho.