New AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander has opened up about the emotional and “surreal” moment she captured the championship at the All Out pay-per-view on September 20, 2025. In a new interview, Statlander was candid about the feelings of pressure and self-doubt that accompanied her long-awaited victory. Statlander’s journey to the top of the women’s division has been a long and difficult one, marked by two separate, major knee injuries that each sidelined her for nearly a year. Her victory in the four-way match at All Out, where she pinned the dominant former champion “Timeless” Toni Storm, was a moment of supreme triumph and validation after years of setbacks.
Speaking with Lyric Swinton of Sports Illustrated, Statlander revealed her immediate feelings after winning the championship.
“It felt very surreal. I also kind of felt a lot of pressure, like maybe I wasn’t worthy of winning the title. I’ve said before, {Toni} is someone who has been so synonymous with the women’s world championship for so long that it kind of felt like, not that I wasn’t ready for it, but I am still just in a weird spot of trying to figure myself out and right my wrongs and whatnot. But I am always willing to step up and face a challenge head-on, whether it’s another opponent or if it’s being the champion. It’s a little nerve-racking and I still feel like I’m trying to find my footing of proving I am who I say I am and I’m worthy of everything that I have.”
She also reflected on how her long road, including the injuries, made the championship win that much more meaningful.
“It’s been a very up-and-down journey for me. I feel like there were so many opportunities where maybe I had the chance to be the first early on, but I was derailed by my knee injury. I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll come back and be the first person to do this.’ Then, I get injured and time passes by, and other people step up and take that position. It’s very much been, not hurtful, but disheartening, having to be like, ‘Something out of my control stopped me from having that historic moment.’ To now finally have something to my name, ‘I’m the first ever to do this’ it makes all those injuries, all those hard times, all the ups and downs so worth it. I worked unbelievably hard to be in this position that I’m in today. To have that title means more than I could imagine. Wrestling is insane.“
Statlander is scheduled to make her first pay-per-view defense of the championship this Saturday at AEW WrestleDream, where she will face “Timeless” Toni Storm in a one-on-one rematch.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription. Thanks for checking out this article. Make sure to follow Jeff Jarrett and all things GFE on Facebook.
