In the short history of the AEW TBS Championship, Kris Statlander has been one of its most important figures. Not only does she have what many feel are the two best matches in the history of the title against Mercedes Mone, but Statlander was the second ever champion, defeating Jade Cargill to win the title at Double or Nothing 2023after missing almost a year with a knee injury.
Appearing on the latest episode of "Close Up with Renee Paquette," Statlander reflected on her win, the emotions that came with it, and how, in the moment, she missed the huge fan reaction she received
"So many people were like 'Did you hear the crowd out there?'" Statlander said. "I was like 'No, I couldn't hear anything.' I was worried about tripping on my entrance, and I stumbled a little bit, and I was like 'Great, this all downhill. I'm going to mess this up. I'm a loser.' And I got to the ring, it went fine...I won the belt. So it went great actually.It was one of the first times that I personally was like 'Oh, maybe I'm getting the recognition...not that I deserve, but have been craving.'
"It felt like something that they [the fans] had wanted for a long time too, and it was just a good...everyone is happy at this point. And I'm very thankful for everyone being on my side when that happened too. That was a very great thing for me. And the couple of people that told me they cried for me. I was like 'That's so sweet.' I don't get emotional like that with wrestling a lot. I never really got emotional over the win of the TBS Championship. I got emotional over the support that I had, if that makes sense."
Plenty changed for Statlander after she lost the title, however, as she went on a bit of a losing streak, and eventually turned on her friends Willow Nightingale and Orange Cassidy. Though Statlander has since moved away from her more villainous ways, she has been unable to make up with her former friends yet, and continues to struggle with focusing on reconciliation with them, winning back the TBS Title, or both.
"Part of me feels like when I had the TBS Title the last time, it was the last time, maybe, that people saw so much worth in me, where things kind of, a lot of times, started slowly...going bad for me, after I lost the title," Statlander said. "And I'm very well aware of that now, reflecting on it. And...part of me feels like, maybe if I have a championship again, TBS Title, Women's Championship...that maybe...I'm not a loser anymore, and maybe Willow or the Best Friends will see the value in me to hopefully help me reconcile with the wrongs that I've done, and with them also.
"Because...I do want to make amends, but sometimes...like, what have I done? I've just lost a lot since then. And it's, again, probably from their perspective, that's probably what I deserve, so. In an ideal world, all three of those things will come true. But I feel like maybe the first step might be trying to focus on a title, or trying to focus on something to prove that I can be better than what I was, if that makes sense."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Close Up with Renee Paquette" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
