Thekla Recalls Getting Death Threats For Attacking STARDOM President

Thekla says she knew that her heel run was working when she got death threats for attacking STARDOM President Taro Okada. The AEW star closed out her time with STARDOM at All Star Grand Queendom 2025, losing a match to Sayaka Kurara. After the match, she attacked Okada which resulted in her being “fired” from the company.

Thekla moved to AEW, where she is now the Women’s World Champion. She spoke with Express U.S. Sport for a new interview and talked about how she got death threats for the moment and more. You can see highlights below:

On Figuring Out Her Character Work Early On:

“I could tell that I was pushing people towards a point where they actually weren’t really sure what they were seeing. And if I was actually being a b—- or if it was all calculated. So it was just a very, very cool thing. And I felt like, oh, I’m starting to really understand what this business is about.”

On Getting Death Threats For Attacking Taro Okada In STARDOM:

“When the death threats came in and everybody was like, ‘Hey, somebody call the police, she needs to leave the country,’ and people started spitting at me at the shows. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I think this is actually really working.’ [laughs]”

On Enjoying Being a Heel More:

“I just love being a little prick. I call everybody dumb bitches, you know? And people are just like, yes.”