The relationship between AEW stars Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander has been a turbulent one to say the least. Less than two years ago, they were not only the best of friends, but were even tag team partners in AEW. That all changed when Nightingale lost the AEW TBS Championship to Mercedes Mone as Statlander turned on her friend and aligned herself with Stokely Hathaway. After settling their differences, Statlander saw the errors of her ways, decided to keep moving forward, and while they might not be on the same page just yet, they are at least in the same book.
During a recent interview with Yahoo Sports' "Uncrowned," Nightingale was asked about her relationship with the current AEW Women's World Champion, stating that she knows they will be linked forever, regardless of whether they like each other. "I think there are a handful of people who I feel like, no matter what has happened or is going to happen, I will have some weird, inexplicable link to [them]. If you search my name up on Google, [Statlander's] name will come up as one of the suggested names, right?"
Statlander isn't the only one who Nightingale feels a strong connection to as she also named two other champions who are perfect foils for the happiest member of the AEW women's division. "But I also feel really linked to Mercedes, having been the last person she wrestled before coming to AEW, and then the first person she wrestled when she did come here. And Athena, while I think there's a lot more for her to be done on the main roster [in] AEW, and hopefully that can happen at some point, I feel like she is a perfect foil to Willow Nightingale. I'm big and strong, and she's little and strong. And we both have a...I mean, she's crazy athletic, but we both have this energy."
Both Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander will be on the same team heading into the upcoming Blood and Guts match on November 12, which will also be the first time that the women's division will get their own Blood and Guts match. Nightingale and Statlander have had the privilege for being in some very high profile situations in recent years, particularly in the realm of more violent hardcore matches, and Nightingale is very happy to be given that trust. "I am glad to have been put in the positions that I have."
Of course, Nightingale and Statlander weren't the first women in AEW to be given the freedom to be a little more violent than usual. Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. set the stage in a singles match, but Penelope Ford, The Bunny, Anna Jay, and Tay Melo set the standard from a tag team perspective. "I really give a lot of credit to [Penelope Ford] and The Bunny and TayJay for that first hard street fight that they had as a tag, because that set the precedent."
Nightingale and Statlander have since had numerous Street Fights in AEW, both as tag team partners and as opponents. It's because of these shared experiences where Nightingale has to give credit where credit is due to Statlander as she isn't afraid to get her hands bloody. "I have to credit Stat a lot, too, because we did a lot of those as a tag. And for whatever personal feelings I may have against her, I can never gloss over the fact that she has such an incredible brain for wrestling, whether that be through her athleticism or her gory, sadistic mind."
Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and thanks to Yahoo Sports for the transcription.
