Destination: known. Ruby Soho is All Elite.
Last Sunday at All Out, she debuted as the joker during the Casino Battle Royale. It came down to her and Thunder Rosa, and she wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away. She eventually eliminated Rosa and earned a shot at Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.’s AEW Women’s World Championship.
Tensions are already running high between Soho and Baker. The two engaged in a heated promo backstage during this week’s Dynamite. Things escalated later that night, when Soho had her match against Baker’s heavy, Jaime Hayter.
While The Runaway was able to defeat Hayter, she was attacked by Baker and Rebel after the match. Luckily, Riho and Kris Statlander came to her defense, evening the odds and setting up a six-woman tag match for tonight on Rampage.
Obviously, Soho and Baker are set to collide at some point, most likely at Full Gear in November. Given the fact that they go way back, this match will surely deliver. But what happens after that?
To answer that question, let’s look at five potential opponents for Ruby Soho now that she’s in AEW.
Jade Cargill
Cargill only has less than a year of experience, but she is still someone to keep your eyes on.
She made quite the debut on the November 11, 2020 episode of Dynamite. Not only did she step up to Cody Rhodes on the mic, but she also teased the AEW debut of Shaquille O’Neal. Four months later, she and Shaq defeated Rhodes and Red Velvet in her first ever wrestling match.
After that, she recruited Mark Sterling as her manager and started picking up more wins on Dark, Elevation, and Rampage. Her most recent win came on the September 8 edition of Elevation, where she beat Shawna Reed.
While she possesses incredible size and strength, she is still relatively green and needs to face someone with plenty of experience. Lo and behold, AEW just signed someone who fits that bill.
An 11-year veteran, Ruby Soho could help Cargill hone and improve her skills inside the ring. It might not be a match of the year candidate, but it would serve its purpose. A showdown between Soho and Cargill could certainly help the latter gain quality experience to help her reach that next level.
Hikaru Shida
Shida, as we all know, is one of the best wrestlers in the AEW women’s division. However, we haven’t seen her on Dynamite in quite some time.
Since losing the AEW Women’s World Championship to Baker at Double or Nothing, Shida has only been on Dark and Elevation. She participated in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out but lasted just over five minutes before being eliminated by Nyla Rose.
The former champ is clearly stuck in a rut right now. She needs someone to help get her out of it, and that someone could be Soho. Both women are great in the ring and can put on a fantastic match if given the chance.
Surprisingly, they have never wrestled each other before, so this could be a fresh and new matchup. It could also benefit both women in some way. Soho beating her could further establish her as a threat in the division. On the other hand, regardless of if Shida wins or loses, it gives her something more meaningful to do. Something like this could put her back on Dynamite or Rampage.
Either way, a match between these two would be so much fun to watch.
Tay Conti
Ever since joining AEW, Conti has done nothing but improve.
In The Deadly Draw tournament, she and Anna Jay made it to the semifinals before losing to Ivelisse and Diamante. The following month, she officially signed with AEW and began picking up numerous wins.
After slowly rising in the rankings, she earned a title shot against then-champion, Shida. While she didn’t walk away with the title, Conti impressed many with her showing that night. Currently, her and Jay are dealing with the recurring issue of Penelope Ford and The Bunny.
Believe it or not, Soho and Conti barely crossed paths when they were both in NXT. They faced each other in a few tag matches at house shows, but never one on one. So, these two facing off in AEW would be a relatively new matchup.
Conti is not the same competitor she was all those years ago and would look to prove herself against Soho. However, The Runaway isn’t the same woman she was back then either. She is more focused and motivated than ever and would love to take on an upstart like Conti.
Kris Statlander
While Statlander is helping Soho out right now, a match between these two could certainly happen in the future.
Statlander made quite the first impression on December 18, 2019, defeating Baker to earn a shot at then-champion, Riho. Several months later, she got another title shot, this time against Rose. Though she was unsuccessful, it didn’t slow her momentum down one bit. Unfortunately, what did was a torn ACL she suffered last June.
The Galaxy’s Greatest Alien returned on the March 31, 2021 episode of Dynamite, helping Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor beat Miro and Kip Sabian. Since then, Statlander has been on an absolute tear. She was undefeated up until All Out, where Baker beat her to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship. However, even in defeat, she proved that she is still one of the best the AEW women’s division has to offer.
If Ruby Soho wants a real test, then Statlander is her girl—or should I say, alien. Soho may be determined to beat Baker for the title, but Statlander is just as focused on earning another shot. It feels like only a matter of time before these two collide in some form or fashion.
Given what we’ve seen from both women, it’s easy to say that a match between them would be excellent. Hopefully we won’t have to wait long to see it happen.
Thunder Rosa
From what we saw at All Out, AEW would be foolish not to book a match between Soho and Rosa.
As mentioned above, Soho and Rosa were the last two standing in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out. Going into the match, Rosa was a heavy favorite to win it all. That is until Soho’s music hit, and things changed quickly.
Regardless, Rosa is still one of the hottest competitors in AEW. Fans begged the promotion to bring her in, and she finally made her debut on August 22, 2020. There, she challenged then-champion, Shida, to a title match at All Out. She couldn’t capture the gold but kept moving forward and built up more momentum.
Perhaps the highlight of her AEW career to date was her feud with Baker. The two went at it for months before things culminated on the March 17, 2021 episode of Dynamite. Rosa and Baker faced off in an Unsanctioned Lights Out match, the first women’s bout to main event Dynamite. In the end, Rosa prevailed, and the match is still considered one of the best in AEW history.
Rosa and Soho are cut from the same cloth; both are tenacious, head-strong, and lay it all out in the ring every time. They put on good matches with just about everyone, so imagine what they can do against each other.
These two could easily bring the house down. Just think about what happened at All Out; their first encounter left fans wanting more. Without a doubt, it’s only a matter of time before we see them go at it again.
Who do you want to see Ruby Soho face in AEW? Let us know in the comments below!