The AEW’s Women’s division is in a better place these days.
While not perfect, the level of talent within the division is astounding. Whether it’s Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone, Athena, Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, Taya Valkyrie, or Deonna Purrazzo, that’s just a short list of names because the women’s division has a huge cast that can deliver bangers on a consistent basis.
But it wasn’t always that way.
When AEW was first introduced in 2019, there were several notably good female wrestlers on the roster, but the level of talent didn’t compare to the current version of the division. Was one of the reasons due to a lack of drive?
Kris Statlander thinks so. The AEW Women’s World Champion talked about the early days of AEW’s women’s division and she feels that they lacked any hunger and drive.
“I see a lot more hunger and drive. I feel like once when AEW first started, given I wasn’t there initially at the day one, but I was there with- I was like a few weeks behind. I feel like a lot of people were very… not relaxed, but people can get very like complacent with being like, I have the job, I’m where I need to be at. It takes a lot of hard work to get to that position, to get to the top, and I understand wanting to calm down and relax and be like, ‘I did it, I made it’, but we never truly make it. It’s nothing- there’s always so much more to accomplish.
Statlander was a little disheartening to see wrestlers put in little effort during the promotion’s early days.
"Sure, I was the first ever person to be TBS champion and the world champion. But what if I want to be the first ever two-time TBS champion? What if I want to be the first ever to hold both of them at the same time? There’s so much more than that. But there’s just so many more goals that you can think of and accomplish, and in a world that’s constantly changing, it’s a little disheartening to see some people not necessarily, not that they don’t care, but to see that you put so much effort into it and see that not everybody always, and it’s not just the women, it’s everyone across the board with all aspects of every single job ever.
It’s so disheartening to be like, I care so much about something that no one else seems to care about. I don’t wanna be isolated for caring so much. But I feel like today with the roster that we have now, everyone just wants so much success and just to give such an amazing product to the world, and it’s so fulfilling to be a part of it now. And to have seen it got to this point where we have everything that we need and more, honestly.”
Toni Storm will surely put in the effort to get that title back at WrestleDream. Check out the full interview where Statlander talks about her journey to winning the world title, The Death Riders, and so much more!