UPDATE: 2023/12/01 07:30 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA
Since her signing to AEW, Kris Statlander has more than proven that she is one of the biggest future stars in the promotion. She has already held the TBS Championship, a title many had advocated and pushed for her to win early on. Statlander has been one of the most powerful competitors in AEW. She has taken on some of the company’s very best, including Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Taya Valkyrie. In addition, Statlander also holds the honor of having been the one to Jade Cargill’s long undefeated streak in the company prior to her joining WWE.
AEW found a breakout star in Kris Statlander joining the women’s division as a face character. Statlander had a polarizing introduction with her alien gimmick delivered strong opinions. The connection with most of the AEW fan base helped her showcase her skills and potential for a bigger role. AEW adding Statlander to the Best Friends faction with Chuck Taylor, Trent and Orange Cassidy boosted her return from an injury. Her current run as TBS Champion has been great to see as she is loved by fans and her peers in the back.
11 She Has A Successful Independent Wrestling Career
She's A Multi-Time Champion Across Different Promotions
Statlander started wrestling in 2016 and signed with AEW in 2019, but in between, she amassed a very successful résumé on the independent wrestling scene, despite her relative inexperience. She has won the CAP Television Title, the AAW Women’s Championship, and the WSU World Championship, to name just a few of her accomplishments.
Statlander’s experience has been greatly beneficial having already resulted in a TBS Championship reign and defeating Jade Cargill to become the second person to ever hold the title. With so much accomplished already, there is still a lot for Statlander to accomplish.
10 The Alien Gimmick Origins
Statlander's Interest In Science Helped Create Her Persona
Many gimmicks in wrestling have some interesting and obscure origin stories, but Statlander’s former one remains quite simple – ‘The Galaxy’s Greatest Alien’ came from her love of science. Statlander has revealed herself to be a huge science nerd, so being billed from the Andromeda Galaxy comes from that personal passion.
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AEW: Kris Statlander's Bizarre Alien Gimmick, Explained
Kris Statlander showed up in AEW with an alien gimmick that confused fans. Here is where the alien came from and what has happened to the gimmick.
There were some interesting quirks to her gimmick, with creatively named moves such as the Area 451 Splash, and the Big Bang Theory. Statlander has since abandoned her alien gimmick, opting for the more serious “More Than A Woman” gimmick. It was welcomed, as it allowed Statlander to grow and evolve her character even more. However, the alien gimmick remains a key part of Statlander’s career and was an important part of her growth in AEW.
9 18th In The PWI 100 For 2023
She Won The TBS Championship At Double Or Nothing 2023
Each year, Pro Wrestling Illustrated releases its list of the top 500 male wrestlers, and the top 100 female wrestlers each year. In 2023, despite missing some time due to injury, Statlander finished in the remarkable position of number 18, placing her in the upper echelon of female performers in the entire world.
With the PWI rankings being largely based in kayfabe, it is hard to distinguish how impressive it is to rank highly, but regardless, it is still a big honor to be placed in a good position. It also shows how much AEW are backing Statlander as a performer, with an impressive wins and losses record throughout the year.
8 She Is 28 Years Old
She Was In Her Mid-20s When She Joined AEW
The youth of AEW has quite a few younger wrestlers on the roster having important roles. Noteworthy names like Jungle Boy and Darby Allin have shown that age is just a number and getting over doesn’t need to be a waiting game.
Kris Statlander is another young name to prove her skill set at just 28-years-old. The birthday of Statlander takes place in the summer, as she was born on August 7, 1995. AEW is trying to find the balance between respected veterans, top stars in their prime, and younger names making their steps forward in the business.
7 First Female Graduate From A Respected Wrestling School
Statlander, MJF, and Max Caster All Trained At Create-A-Pro
WWE producer Pat Buck and Impact Wrestling star Curt Hawkins/Brian Myers have become top teachers in the industry for their Create-A-Pro wrestling school located in the New York area. MJF, Max Caster and Bear Bronson are a few relevant AEW names to get trained there.
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Kris Statlander made history for the school by becoming the first female trainee to graduate from the program. Create-A-Pro certainly has a presence in AEW, and Statlander is the most successful one after MJF in getting her start in the industry.
Professional Debut | November 2016 |
Notable Accomplishments | AAW Women's Champion, CAP Television Champion, TBS Champion |
Finisher | Friday Night Fever |
6 WWE Talks Ended During Background Check
She Was An Enhancerment Talent In WWE
The potential of Kris Statlander saw her on WWE’s radar before she signed with AEW. WWE used Statlander as an enhancement talent to lose to the IIconics. The match was enough for WWE to verbally discuss an NXT contract offer.
Unfortunately, WWE’s background check led to a few social media posts being flagged. Statlander explained that the search is detailed and found terms of weapons that were used when discussing her stunt work. WWE slowed down their process in looking into her past and AEW came up with a stronger offer to sign her away. With her success in AEW, a run in NXT may not have been the best direction anyway.
5 She Is 5'9'' Tall
She Is One Of The Tallest Women In AEW
AEW likes to have variety in the size and looks of their wrestlers for each division. Kris Statlander is one of the tallest women in AEW today at 5’9’’ tall. There are a couple of names within or taller than her height, but Statlander has the height advantage in most matches.
The rare instance of a face character having the size advantage can take away from the underdog nature. However, Statlander’s character work is so effective that she gets the audience on her side with relative ease most weeks.
4 Massage Therapist Outside Of Ring
This Influenced Her To Join AEW Over WWE
One of the reasons for Kris Statlander signing with AEW instead of waiting on her WWE contract background check was the option to continue working on outside projects. Statlander went to school to become a massage therapist and was just starting that chapter of her career.
AEW allows her to wrestle as a heavily featured character and building that outside business in the massage world. Statlander was just out of school when she received her degree, and she didn’t want to just remove that side of her life for wrestling.
3 Worked In Stunt Double Field Before Wrestling
Her Athleticism Has Helped Her In Wrestling And Stunt Work
The other profession of Kris Statlander away from the ring featured her time working in the stunt work world. Statlander’s athleticism and ability to deal with pain each plays a role in wrestling success, but the stunt field needed those traits from her as well.
Quite a few wrestlers have tried to become a stunt double in movies and television shows either before or after their career. Finding jobs outside of wrestling can be tough for such a specific experience, but stunt work is a perfect fit. It is true that wrestlers have lives outside of wrestling, and this could certainly be an option for her if she ever steps away from the squared circle.
2 Tony Khan Originally Shut Down Pairing With Orange Cassidy
Their Friendship Began On "Being The Elite"
AEW continues to let the Young Bucks run the weekly YouTube vlog Being the Elite. The sketch show helped names like SCU, Dark Order and Adam Page progress their careers by taking risks with their characters. Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends have been a constant on BTE with Kris Statlander eventually joining them. The comedic moments of Cassidy would see Statlander having fun interactions with him using her alien gimmick.
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Tony Khan revealed he made it clear this wouldn’t be a television angle until Statlander returned from her injury and he changed his mind due to the right timing for both parties. Khan has even admitted to not getting Cassidy at first either, until he was won around.
1 Dating Fellow Wrestler Caleb Konley
Konley Was A Former Impact Wrestling Talent
The wrestling world has expanded with more promotions working together outside WWE. Kris Statlander doesn’t work directly with her boyfriend, Caleb Konley. Unfortunately, the two have never crossed paths in AEW. However, never say never in wrestling.
Konley was formerly a heel persona as the social media manager and partner/manager of Tenille Dashwood. The relationship between Statlander and Konley started a few years ago and both have witnessed positive changes in their lives and careers since then.
