On Saturday, September 20th, All Elite Wrestling returned to the home of the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Scotiabank Arena in Canada, for one of its biggest shows of the year, “AEW All Out: Toronto.” The show was headlined by ‘Hangman’ Adam Page defending the AEW World Championship against the TNT Champion, Kyle Fletcher, in an instant classic.
We also saw Toni Storm defend the AEW Women’s Championship in a four-way match against Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter, & Thekla. If Storm was going to retain her title, she had a massive uphill battle to climb. Unfortunately for her, a new AEW Women’s Champion was crowned, Kris Statlander. Here is why this was the right move.
Kris Statlander Winning the AEW Women’s World Championship was the Right Move
The “AEW All Out: Toronto” event was a very strong show from start to finish. While it was also very long, Tony Khan booked excellent matches and had fun moments sprinkled in throughout the show. One of these fun moments saw Kris Statlander stand tall as the new AEW Women’s World Champion.
On top of being a great title win, this was also a strong testament as to Statlander’s place on the AEW roster and in women’s wrestling as a whole. In a world that’s dominated by the likes of Becky Lynch, Mercedes Mone, Rhea Ripley, and Toni Storm, Statlander is a name that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough.
With the win at “All Out,” Statlander has cemented herself in the history books, becoming the first women to win both the AEW TBS Championship and the AEW Women’s World Championship. This is an accolade that deserves all the attention, especially when you take a look at the AEW women’s division and how strong it is.
Statlander has always been a workhorse in the division. This is nothing new. Despite that, she’s always been a step below those who are named in a higher regard and more well-known. This victory was a testament to how truly valuable and important she is in spite of all of that. Spoiler alert: Kris Statlander is a star in every sense of the word.
Close to 1,500 days have passed since Statlander’s last attempt to win the AEW Women’s Championship. So, this was long over due. Throughout those 1,500 days, she has suffered injuries, setbacks, new roster additions which took her spot, but still showed up and gave the fans big moments. This is a testament to how good she truly is.
Her feud with Willow Nightingale is one that doesn’t get talked about enough, and will go down in history as one of the best non-title AEW women’s feuds. The best part about it is there’s still so much more to tell in that story. Now, you also have the added story of Statlander being openly recruited to be a Death Rider.
Putting the AEW Women’s World Championship on Statlander immediately reinvigorates the women’s division as well. Nothing against Storm who has done a good job, but it was long overdue for a change. Storm should remain out of the AEW Women’s World Championship picture now for quite some time and let others have their time.
Statlander pinning Storm to win the title also spoke volumes. This immediately eliminated any and all questions about the validity of the win. Now, it’s very possible we see Statlander and Storm have a singles match, but following that, we could see some interesting fresh and new faces get AEW Women’s World Championship shots.
Statlander becoming the AEW Women’s World Champion was without a doubt the correct move for AEW to make. Not only for some new interesting matches, but also a new face and a new chance to shine at the top in a division which has been dominated by Storm for the past few years now.
Anytime a babyface wins a top prize, fans always serenade them with chants of “you deserve it.” However, this one was truly different. It was special. As someone who has followed Statlander’s career from the early, early days at Create A Pro, when she was Liza Viero, she more than deserved this moment. She’s truly one of the best in women’s wrestling today.
It remains to be seen where we go from here. Will we see Statlander face off with Nightingale, yet again, but this time for the top championship? It’s very possible. Following that, we should expect to see some fresh new rivalries take place over the top prize in the AEW women’s division. Just one thing, keep it AWAY from Mercedes Mone.
