There was considerable speculation surrounding Mercedes Moné and her chances of beating Kris Statlander for the Women’s Championship belt going into Full Gear. They skewed in favor of Moné finally getting her hands on the title that’s already eluded her multiple times before.
It was an easy scenario to imagine. Moné is a great heel, holding multiple titles from multiple promotions simply by showing up and asking for a championship match on the basis of her star power. It’s been frowned upon by many, leading to the worry that Statlander would be but another sacrificial lamb offered at the championship altar of Mercedes Moné.
But it didn’t go Moné’s way at Full Gear. Like Toni Storm before her, Statlander held her own with the CEO and successfully defended the Women’s title. The win blows open the gates of superstardom for the champ, signaling a new era that looks, sounds, and feels like an AEW original.
Statlander has come a long way since her tag team days as one half of The Brooklyn Belles, alongside Karissa Rivera, back in 2019. She’s a crowd-favorite, a fact made evident during her red-hot tag team run with Willow Knightingale and her tenure as the TBS Women’s champ. Loyalty to the AEW brand has also given her a towering presence among the roster, standing as a pillar of the company and a stellar representative of the type of wrestling it wants to be the face of.
Simply put, Kris Statlander is what the future of AEW looks like, making her the kind of champion the company needs to set itself apart from the competition. Had Moné gotten the win, then both the belt and its wearer would’ve lost their luster. Just another title for the collection. Statlander was dangerously close to becoming a steppingstone in another wrestler’s path. Fortunately, the right decisions were made.
Storytelling-wise, keeping the belt on Statlander further bolsters AEW’s latest push for more cohesive narrative arcs. The biggest complaint lodged at the company is finally getting addressed with tighter, more well-defined feuds and matchups that have the legs to go beyond a single promo and a 30-minute bout. A lot is owed to Timeless Toni Storm’s titled run. Her time as the champ was essentially a masterclass in character-building. It gave the Women’s championship belt a kind of prestige that heightened the stakes behind each defense.
Now it’s time to see how Statlander makes the belt her own. Questions as to how she’ll grow within the role and what new character traits will bubble up are now exciting rather than worrying. Story is pushing the title reign, as it always should be. Kris Statlander is poised to make an indelible mark as the Women’s champ. Now it’s all about holding the line until the inevitable Statlander/Nightingale title match.
