Kris Statlander: ‘People are more invested in the women’s division’ than ever
Kris Statlander says fans have never been more invested in AEW’s women’s division.
Statlander will challenge for the AEW Women’s World Championship later this month at All Out in a four-way match against Thekla, Willow Nightingale, and champion Toni Storm. During a recent interview with SI.com, she discussed where she wants to see the division go.
“I want to see more things that people get so invested in that they want to see us at the top of the card every single night. And that’s not necessarily just a ‘Put us in the main event’ type thing. I think people need to draw passion from themselves into their performances, and I think we are getting to that point where people are caring so much about what they’re putting out there that things are getting more heated. Things are getting more exciting.”
She continued:
“People are more invested in the women’s division than they ever have been before. And [I want] more big blow-off matches and more street fights. Why not? The girls love to go nuts. The girls love going crazy. More street fights, tag titles, blood and guts, maybe mixed tag stuff more often, stuff like that. I agree with all of those things.”
Statlander also reflected on her experience wrestling in England for Pro Wrestling EVE. The 30-year-old debuted for the promotion on July 4, defeating Anita Vaughan to win the women’s title. She returned on September 5 and successfully defended the belt against Nina Samuels before flying to Philadelphia to wrestle on Collision the following day.
“I went into it [Pro Wrestling EVE] with the idea of getting to do the international travels that I never got the chance to do before I got signed. Because very fortunately, I got signed about three years into my wrestling career. I never really had the time or the chance to get any of those international U.K. tours or a tour in Japan or anything like that. Not that there weren’t potential opportunities there. It just never panned out.”
She also spoke about her upcoming title match at AEW All Out, her last shot at the championship in 2021, and more during the interview. It is available here.
