Kris Statlander, ever since defeating Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship, has proven herself willing to take on all challengers in any city. In just over 50 days, she’s defended her title six times, and done it on DYNAMITE, on COLLISION, and during the HOUSE RULES events in Alabama and Mississippi.
That fighting ethos comes into play this Friday night on RAMPAGE when, for the first time since DARK #121 back on December 14th of 2021, Statlander will step into the ring with “The Problem” Marina Shafir! Though these are not two women with a great deal of interpersonal baggage, it should be noted that Shafir’s AEW debut took place that December night when she lost to Statlander after a six and a half minute fight. So for Shafir, while taking on this fight is largely about becoming the TBS Champion, it is also just a bit about showing Statlander how far she’s come as a competitors since that fight nearly two years ago.
Can Shafir finally achieve the thing that’s avoided her since that first match on DARK, can she become a champion in All Elite Wrestling and ruin Statlander’s amazing comeback from injury in the process? Or will Kris continue to demonstrate her dominance as TBS Champion, and move onto the next woman willing to step up to the challenge?