At AEW’s All Out PPV, Kris Statlander won the Women’s World Championship, ending the 217-day reign of the “timeless” Toni Storm. Chris finally received the flowers. It’s a welcome sight for many fans, myself included, who were unhappy with her booking. But why did Chris win? And why now? Kris becoming Women’s Champion is a decision that means more than just her turn to hold the belt, and her journey will have a huge impact on AEW’s ongoing storylines.
all toni
First, let’s talk about former four-time AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm. For those of you who haven’t heard of her, she’s an uncensored, free-spirited old Hollywood star who is proudly queer and always ruins fights. However, that’s just the latest version of her persona. In 2023, Toni Storm was a fairly common punk character from a stable called Outkast, made up of former WWE members who felt excluded in AEW. After Toni lost the Women’s World Championship to Hikaru Shida, she suffered a mental breakdown and was reborn as the movie star we see today. This new personality suited her perfectly. Toni developed a highly acclaimed storyline with young starlet Mariah May (now played by NXT’s Blake Monroe) and borrowed liberally from classic films such as: all about eve and What happened to Baby Jane? But there’s an unmistakable sapphire overtone. This culminated in a brutal “Hollywood Ending” match at Revolution in March of this year. Toni retained her title there, but her protégé/lover/nemesis died in her arms.
Toni did not grieve for long after this shocking event. She quickly befriended Mina Shirakawa, who had previously been in a threesome situation with Toni and Mariah. She has spent most of the year looking for a worthy candidate to take the title, defeating impressive challengers such as Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Athena and AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone. In her words, Toni was looking for her own murder and finally found a murderous woman named Kris Statlaender.
Born Again Kristen
Who exactly is Chris Statlander? Even she had a hard time understanding it. The former one-time TBS champion initially had an alien gimmick, but later abandoned it, with mixed results. She has always been part of a group, first Best Friends, then Willow Nightingale and Stokely Hathaway. It’s a fact that has tormented her over the years and ultimately causes her to turn heel and betray Willow, claiming she doesn’t need anyone. Driven by paranoia and rejecting love and connection in favor of solo success, it didn’t work out for her as she ended up losing every attempt she made to regain the TBS Championship. Recently declaring herself a “born again Kristen,” she clumsily attempts to repent for her actions toward Willow, and even makes a new friend in the goofy and versatile Harley Cameron.
The contrast between the two women could not be more stark. While Toni is timeless and successfully freed from her original incarnation, Chris has no such luck. Past failures, regrets, and love haunt her with every step. She still tries her best to get Willow to forgive her, but she turns around and admonishes her former best friend, Wheeler Yuta, for his pathetic and misguided displays of affection. Unlike Toni, who has multiple lovers and/or nemeses at once, Chris has a hard time making (and keeping) friends. But it was memories of past friendships that brought her victory. When Chris won, she won with the “seat belt” pin. This is a move taught to both her and Yuta by Best Friends instructor Chuck Taylor. It wasn’t a coincidence. Her new gear and Tron aren’t a revival of her old alien gimmick either.
It is significant that Chris was able to win the women’s championship only when she finally integrated all her different parts into a whole. She’s now human and alien, best friend and stat daddy, and more than just a woman. In fact, she now calls herself the Supreme Being. While this may not have been her intention, it’s a story that resonates with neurodivergent women who can sometimes lose themselves in an identity that doesn’t fit before finally deciding to shed the mask and be who they are. She won’t let anyone tell her who she is – not even Jon Moxley, who is trying to recruit her to the Death Riders.
Choices and their consequences
It has been teased for months that Chris Statlaender would turn over and join the Death Riders. The decision to join a faction that caused so much trouble to her former friends is heartbreaking, and one her character will likely never recover from. However, Chris made a new friend in Harley Cameron, who played a pivotal role in rebuffing the Death Rider’s attack shortly after she won the championship. For a moment, Chris seemed to be considering joining in, even reluctantly hugging Yuta, but when he saw the fear on Harley’s face, he realized there was no need to repeat the past. She will be able to do things differently this time and stop hurting her loved ones. Triumphantly giving Jon Moxley the finger, she gleefully ran off into the crowd with Harley by her side and their friendship intact. This choice not to repeat the past continues the theme of Chris having a strong sense of her own identity, and also has some implications for who she reconciles with in the future.
Chris has a great new friendship with Harley, but she still has people to make amends to and save. Once a tag team, Chris and Willow became bitter enemies after Chris convinced Stokely Hathaway that she needed to go her own way. This is a betrayal that Willow naturally cannot forgive. With Chris clearly rejecting evil and protecting her friends, Willow may find it easier to trust her again. And because of their common past, Chris refuses to let Utah join the Death Riders, so maybe she could be the one to rescue him from the cult. Although he was ostensibly looking for her to recruit her, he is also clearly an unpopular figure within the group, and may be subconsciously seeking help from a familiar face. However, Chris cannot help Yuta return to the light alone.
In addition to reconciling with Willow, Chris also owes Orange Cassidy an apology. Orange Cassidy recently returned from injury and will be involved in the Death Riders storyline again. Seeing that Chris reverts to her old self, rejects Moxley’s offer to join, and even wins the women’s championship with a move Chuck taught her, may influence Orange to forgive her. I’m not usually that excited about female storylines that revolve heavily around men, but Chris’ journey towards forgiveness and acceptance isn’t complete without his former best friend.
all elite statlender
Toni Storm and Chris Statlaender are scheduled to compete again this Saturday, October 18th. wrestle dream. Toni’s goal is to get Chris to prove that she truly deserves the Women’s Championship. Perhaps it’s her turn to be stuck in her past and forever yearning to get the belt back. Toni’s current presentation suggests this. Since she’s no longer the Women’s Champion, her entrance was filmed only in black and white, with none of the pop of red we’re used to. Without the championship, the color disappeared from Toni’s world. But Chris has no intention of letting Toni return to her former glory. By continuing to progress through imperfections and striving to do better each day than yesterday, Chris will lead the AEW Women’s World Championship into the future.
Image via AEW
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