Kris Statlander Recalls How Her Heel Run Was Executed, Likes It When Fans Don’t Know What’s Going On in Wrestling

During a recent interview with New York Post Sports, AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander discussed her short-lived heel turn, where she was managed by Stokely Hathaway. Statlander indicated that she would’ve liked things to have been done differently with the angle, but it all wasn’t her decision.

Statlander abruptly broke off from Stokely Hathaway as her heel manager after beating Willow Nightingale in a Chicago Street Fight at AEW All Out 2024. Below are some highlights:

Kris Statlander on If She Liked Playing the Heel and How the Turn Ended Abruptly

“Yeah, for sure. I definitely think there’s things that I would have done differently, but sometimes you — I also, you know, I wasn’t alone in that, and when you’re not alone doing business, you’re not always the one making all the decisions and everything has to be a team effort and whatnot. So I feel like that’s, you know, everyone has does things differently when they are in charge of everything that they do. But when you’re working with other people, you have to accommodate for other people and work with other people. So, I definitely think that going back to it would be a lot of fun, but for some reason, people keep thinking that I flip-flop every single week, and that’s not true. I’ve been trying to make a name for myself and make amends ever since that ended. And you know I can only be forgiven by those who think that I deserve i,t and not everybody thinks that. So I will always be in an odd standing with some people.”

On How Her Surprising Title Win Came Off

“Yeah. I prefer when fans don’t know what’s going on in wrestling because that’s how it should be. They shouldn’t expect to know everything. And honestly, it ruins things when people look for spoilers or they look for answers, or it’s really is frustrating when people say that wrestling is bad because it’s not what they want it to be, or it’s not the outcome that they want, or it’s not the finish that they imagined in their head. And they think wrestling’s bad because it’s not what they said it should be. When they are not wrestlers, they are not doing what we do. They just like things that they like. That’s what I think is the most incorrect way to watch wrestling. You don’t know what you’re not a fan of if you hate things just because they’re not
what you want. That’s not how it works. So I am very happy that I was able to kind of shock the world in the way that I did.”

On Being Sick of Having to Prove Her Worth as Champion

“I, first of all, I just want to say I’m sick of having to try and solidify my standing because I had to do it to Toni Storm in the first one, and now I have to do it to Mercedes. And I don’t know how me holding the belt and being the champion is not solid proof as it is. So I wish people would stop questioning my worth, my value as a champion, because I’m a champion. I’ve been a champion before. It’s nothing new for me. But I am very happy to like I said rain on her parade, and if I am the catalyst to her downfall, excellent. I’m honored to be the one to do it.”

Now, Kris Statlander faces off against AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone for Statlander’s AEW Women’s World Championship at this weekend’s AEW Full Gear 2025 event. The event takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, November 22. It will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit New York Post Sports with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.