Kris Statlander On Whether She Was The Right Person To Dethrone Jade Cargill In AEW

Since returning to in-ring action and becoming the second-ever TBS Champion at AEW Double or Nothing 2023, Kris Statlander has effectively gotten back on track as one of the top stars of AEW's women's division. While she has already defended the TBS title twice on TV and four times altogether, that number still pales in comparison to the woman she dethroned, Jade Cargill, who defended the belt 25 times and held the title for over 500 days before losing to the returning star late last month.

In a recent interview with Rick Ucchino on the "Bleav In Pro Wrestling" YouTube channel, Statlander discussed being the person to overthrow Cargill, and how her title win played out.

"It's hard to really say what is the right or wrong thing to do [with] wrestling," Statlander prefaced. "Jade fell because of her overconfidence ... it's not my fault that she put out the open challenge and I took advantage of that."

Jade's first singles loss in AEW came as the result of her issuing an open challenge just minutes after defeating Taya Valkyrie to extend her then-undefeated streak to 60-0. While this made Statlander's subsequent victory over Jade slightly questionable to some, the champion ultimately believes it was the right decision.

"Sure, I was fresh, because I didn't just have a match and she did, but I also [hadn't] wrestled a match in nine months," Statlander said. "I think that everything we did made sense ... One day, when she comes back, [I] can prove that it wasn't just a fluke."

As TBS Champion, Statlander already has a long list of challengers looking for a shot at the title. However, it appears as though Valkyrie is next in line, as demonstrated in a backstage segment on the June 16 episode of "AEW Rampage."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Bleav In Pro Wrestling" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.