AEW star Willow Nightingale recently joined Fightful’s Grapsody podcast for an in-depth conversation about all things pro-wrestling, including Willow’s thoughts on signing with AEW, when she was offered her official deal, and details the pay-per-appearance agreement she had prior. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Reveals exactly when she signed her official AEW contract:
I, obviously knew I had been signed at this point, I signed the contract that morning. They had emailed it to me and I was standing ringside when I did the signature on my phone. It was really fresh and very full circle for me. Daily’s Place, the majority of the time I spent there in the crowd because the audience was people who came in for extra work or other people who were on the roster who weren’t wrestling. We filled the crowd, made all the noise and supported each other, and were there for hours at a time. We were there until two in the morning sometimes recording the show. We would do this every two weeks. It felt like I was putting in so much energy and effort and, is there the recognition there that I wanted? Is the payoff there? I don’t know. Now, a year and some change later, I have signed a full-time contract to the company that I want to work for, in the building where I felt some of my lowest feelings about myself and my career, and it was very full circle. To have the crowd there to cheer for me and be super into it, it was very overwhelming. Yes, I did not see [the graphic] on the big screen. At one point, I turned around and was like, ‘Wow, that’s me!’ I was responding to all the people around me. Tony Schiavone, a legend of the industry, putting it all out there. I was overwhelmed with a flurry of different emotions. That was a really cool moment for me.
Talks the pay-per-appearance deal she was on prior:
I had a pay-per-appearance situation. I was with them in a capacity, in an official capacity even, but to me it didn’t really feel the same. I wasn’t on the roster page. I don’t think the fans really looked at me as a part of the team. Here and there, depends on who you ask. I still felt a chip on my shoulder because even if I hadn’t gotten the All Elite graphic, it just didn’t feel like I was fully welcomed in yet. The women in the locker room were great and had been treating me kindly and everything, but it wasn’t the whole thing. When it all happened, I was like, ‘Ahh! Yes!’
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)