Thekla Explains Why AEW Was ‘Kind Of a Relief’ After Working In STARDOM

Thekla says that she occasionally struggled with the language barrier in STARDOM and that it was kind of a relief when she came to AEW. The AEW Women’s World Champion was part of the STARDOM roster until April of 2025, when she signed with AEW.

Since that time, the Toxic Spider has had a quick rise to the top of AEW. She spoke with Renee Paquette on AEW Close Up about the transition from STARDOM to AEW, and you can see highlights below:

On Making the Transition From STARDOM to AEW:

“I think it’s very different. Obviously, Japan I always had to struggle, like I mean it’s — after five years I picked up a bit of Japanese. But it’s always, I love to express what I’m thinking and so if you don’t speak Japanese that’s a little hard, right? I always have these ideas, and the coming to AEW was kind of a relief.”

On How Many Languages She Speaks:

“So, German is my main language, then English. Uh, I lived in Spain, so Spanish is my third, then Japanese. My mom is from Georgia. It’s a little country next to Russia. They speak Georgian. It’s another whole thing… it’s really, really different from everything else. But I when I go over there, they think I’m like — they don’t really get what’s what’s going on, because I speak like a child.”

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