Kris Statlander is grateful that she has trust from those in power at AEW.
The company star appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss her surprise return at last Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, where she defeated the unbeaten Jade Cargill to become the second ever TBS Champion. Statlander, who has already made two successful defenses of the title, begins by admitting how nervous she was to be the one that ended Cargill’s impressive streak.
Very much what I’ve been saying, where I was nervous and I wasn’t sure if I was the one that deserved to be the one to do it. It’s not just because of how much they built her up. She has such incredible star power, she has such a presence to her. People want to see her. I was putting pressure on myself, thinking like ‘How am I going to live up to the type of person and the type of star that she is. She’s undefeated, she’s brought so many outside eyes to wrestling. She’s done so much, and it’s gonna take a while to realize that I don’t have to be the next Jade. I just have to be Kris Statlander, and I’ve got to make my title reign be mine. I can still go out and do events and do things that she did, but I’m not gonna be Jade.
Statlander emphasized that no one is going to be the type of powerhouse that Cargill was in AEW, and that her main goal now is to be a champion that is unique to herself rather than trying to be a copycat.
No one’s gonna be Jade. Jade’s the first-ever TBS Champion, she’s the longest-reigning champion in AEW history, and I think those are two incredible accolades that no one else in the world is going to have. It’s a lot of pressure about just proving that I am the one that was able to step up, and I can step up, and I will. Even though I’ve had to [miss time] because of being injured, I can step right back into the scene and be a champion that people deserve and that people want to see. It’s been just about a week since I’ve been back, and I’ve already technically wrestled four matches, and I am so tired, but it’s everything that I’ve wanted it to be, and I’m just so thankful that everyone has trusted me.
The champ’s latest defense of the TBS title took place at this past weekend’s AEW house show. Full results to that show can be found here.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)