Chappell Roan paid a little homage to lucha libre during her set at Lollapalooza, but the pop singer may have put herself in quite the predicament with Nyla Rose.
Roan, who has been catching the musical world on fire, came out dressed as a luchadora for her performance, complete with a drumset surrounded by a wrestling ring. She was also flanked by two female bodybuilders. The moment took place over the weekend and it caught the eyes of two AEW stars in Willow Nightingale and Nyla Rose.
Nyla Rose was a little more proactive about the wrestling aspect loosely indicating that she’d like to grapple with Roam in the ring and on a bigger scale at Wembley.
WWE was not without their musical acts this weekend as Jelly Roll played a huge role at SummerSlam. He kicked off the show with a rendition of “God Bless America” but then also chokeslammed Austin Theory later in the evening during a confrontation featuring him, Awesome Truth and Grayson Waller.
Chappell Roan has been a pop artist who has been out for several years, but her music has been greatly catching on as of recent including hit songs like “Good Luck, Babe,” “HOT TO GO,” & “Red Wine Supernova”.
Willow Nightingale is a champion once again. The All Elite grappler captured the CMLL Women’s World Championship at NJPW x CMLL FantasticaMania USA on Saturday, July 13 from San Jose, California.
https://x.com/AEW/status/1812319444665807279
Nightingale defeated Viva Van and Lluvia in a 3-way match for the vacant title. The former champion was Stephanie Vaquer, who has since departed CMLL/NJPW and signed with WWE. Vaquer made her WWE debut Saturday night from Mexico City.
Nightingale has held the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, AEW TBS Champion and won the 2023 Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. She’s wrestled in Mexico for CMLL several times this year, including a victory in a 3-on-3 match back in March 2024 over a team that included Stephanie Vaquer, Lluvia and Zeuxis.
Wrestling fans are still reeling from the closing scenes of this week’s AEW Dynamite, which saw Mariah May attack Toni Storm.
May defeated Willow Nightingale to win the 2024 Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. She had a tough road to victory, defeating three former AEW champions (Hikaru Shida, Saraya, and Nightingale) en route to winning the tournament. Just moments after winning the tournament, she showed her true colors and left her former idol in a pool of her own blood.
During a conversation with veteran journalist Justin Barrasso for SI.com, May shed light on this shocking situation. Now that she’s secured a title shot at AEW All In: London 2024 and shattered Toni Storm, it’s time to finish the job.
AEW All In: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May
Mariah May gave us a look into her twisted mentality on AEW Dynamite, but her plan for August 25 is also disturbing.
“My mother will be there at All In. She’ll watch me from the front row as I destroy what’s left of Toni Storm.”
– Toni Storm to SI
May told Barrasso that her lifelong dream since she was a little girl was to come to American and wrestle on television. Today, she’s involved in one of wrestling’s most engaging storyline’s and she’ll challenge for the AEW Women’s World title at Wembley Stadium.
More on Mariah May & Toni Storm
AEW has released footage new of Mariah May and Toni Storm from backstage at AEW Dynamite following May’s betrayal:
All Elite Wrestling has announced on X an exciting slate of matches for next week’s episode of Dynamite. In celebration of Warner Bros. Discovery Shark Week, AEW Dynamite Beach Break will occur on July 3 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The event is expected to follow the aftermath of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, which occurs on June 30. On X, the company also shared that the 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournament will continue on the episode.
One of the featured matchups will have Jeff Jarrett taking on a mystery opponent in the tournament’s quarter-finals. The wrestling legend shared an emotional promo about his relationship with Owen and why he needs to win the Owen Hart Cup on the June 22 episode of AEW Collision. It’s unclear who Jarrett will face, but it’s possible fans will get a hint as the episode draws closer.
Another important matchup announced was that Willow Nightingale will finally get a chance at revenge against Kris Statlander in the semi-finals of the tournament. The former AEW TBS Champion was betrayed by Statlander and her former manager Stokely Hathaway at Double Or Nothing on May 25. Nightingale is expected to be extra motivated to win against Statlander and to become a two-time Owen Hart Cup Winner.
PAC Opponent For AEW Dynamite Beach Break To Be Determined
In addition to the two matches announced for next week’s episode, PAC will also be in action in the semi-finals of the men’s tournament. He defeated Claudio Castagnoli on the June 19 episode of Dynamite to move forward in the competition. Unfortunately, he will have to wait until Forbidden Door to find out who the opponent will be.
Bryan Danielson will take on Shingo Takagi in the quarter-finals at the upcoming pay-per-view. The matchup has the potential to be one of the best matches on the card, with both superstars having a hard-hitting style. However, the winner will have the challenging task of facing PAC three days later on the Dynamite episode.
The July 3 episode of Dynamite has the potential to be a great show. Fans will be sure to tune in to witness how the 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournament continues to develop.
Stokely Hathaway is in his element as a heel and he welcomes any creative type of heat he’s getting online after turning on Willow Nightingale.
Hathaway and Kris Statlander got sick of supporting Willow Nightingale, especially after she lost the TBS Women’s Championship to Mercedes Mone in one of the three main event matches of AEW Double or Nothing. Nightingale was super over as a babyface while Mone is finally easing into her heel identity and so will Stokely and Statlander.
AEW has advertised that we’ll hear more from Hathaway and Statlander on the forthcoming Dynamite, but Stokely heard quite a bit from fans after he and Statlander did Willow dirty at Double or Nothing.
Stokely took to X to share screenshots of some of the creative negative comments he’s gotten so far, including:
“I hope you got diarrhea for a month you f***ing traitor.”
“Count your days Milk Dud.”
“I know Darby used your head and a magnifying glass to light the flame-thrower.”
Also, some fans kept it simple with “F*** you, man,” “You b****,” and “Big Stoke, more like B**** Stoke.” He also added another one in the replies that said “I hope you done like Darby and hit by a bus.”
The former Sasha Banks made her AEW debut at Double or Nothing and left the MGM Grand Arena as a champion.
Mercedes Mone faced Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS Title at Double or Nothing. Their match was the first of three main event matches for the night.
After a competitive match, Mercedes executed the Mone Maker and secured a clean win, marking her in-ring debut for AEW and making her the new TBS Champion.
Mercedes and Nightingale entered the match with history. They previously faced off in NJPW, where Mercedes suffered an ankle injury that cost her the NJPW Strong Women’s Title and led to nearly a year on the sidelines.
Mercedes had a notable entrance for her match. A drum line accompanied her to the ring, adding to the moment as they kept pace with her CEO music.
The CEO Mercedes Moné makes her AEW in-ring debut as she looks to capture TBS gold & revenge!
This victory established Mercedes in AEW, setting the stage for her future in the company. Excalibur sang her praises after the win, saying that Mercedes will be tough to beat with a finisher like the Mone Maker.
After the match, Kris Statlander turned on Willow, hit her, and ripped off her friendship bracelet, adding insult to injury. Stokely Hathaway approved of this turn, marking a separation with Nightingale.
AEW Dynasty was a historic night in Saint Louis, as the company brought their inaugural pay-per-view. The event also saw Willow Nightingale walk away with the TBS Title.
Julia Hart has carried the TBS Title with pride while representing the House of Black. She battled Willow Nightingale at Dynasty, and in the end, a new champion was crowned after delivering a devastating powerbomb.
As Willow celebrated her big victory, Mercedes Mone made her way to the ring, where she stood face-to-face with her. While congratulating Willow on her title win, Mone made her presence very clear.
Mercedes Mone already called her shot to face whoever is TBS Champion next. This win for Willow will set that match up for the future.
Willow and Mercedes already have unfinished business. The two were battling for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title when Mone suffered an ankle injury that took her out of action for months. Mercedes has made reference to her previous run-ins with Willow already.
With Mercedes Mone stepping up to Willow at Dynasty, the two will likely battle with the TBS Title on the line in the near future.
Mercedes Moné stands face-to-face with the NEW TBS Champion Willow Nightingale!
WrestleMania weekend is always packed with events. There are indie pro wrestling shows going on, and other fan conventions. WaleMania went down at the Philadelphia at Franklin Music Hall on April 4, and there are a ton of highlights.
Since its first show in 2015, WaleMania has combined hip-hop and wrestling. It stands apart from other events during WrestleMania weekend, serving as a gathering where fans and wrestlers come together, and every year it’s usually the best party all weekend.
Pro wrestlers from practically every company on the planet linked up for WaleMania this year. As you can see, it was quite a party, and there are many highlights to feature.
WaleMania 2024 Highlights
First off, we have to give Samantha Irvine all the flowers for this one. She not only rocked Razor Ramon’s theme music, but she did it on a flute.
Samantha Irvin, singing and playing a flute to razor Ramon’s theme was not in our bingo card today. pic.twitter.com/7geSUH2XPF
Rob Van Dam was there, smoking on stage, alongside Katie Forbes. It was quite a party as the crowd fed into the performance on stage, who were having just as much fun as the fans.
R-Truth was present at WaleMania, and he gave fans in attendance a different kind of show than they’re used to seeing from him. He grabbed the microphone and spit some fire bars for the fans.
Although he’s not booked for WrestleMania, WWE Hall of Famer RVD was also present. NXT Superstar Kelani Jordan couldn’t resist the opportunity to snap a photo with the Whole F’n Show.
Big E couldn’t miss WaleMania, either. The New Day member cut one of his trademark promos for fans, where he introduced Wale. As you can see in the clip, Trick Williams was there as well, and he had a wonderful time ahead of his main event match at NXT: Stand & Deliver against Carmelo Hayes.
Zilla Fatu didn’t miss the show, either. He was there in attendance at WaleMania, and he had a great time. As you can see in the video below, he also spent some time on the stage.
Kiera Hogan stunned the crowd with her dancing skills. Willow Nightingale didn’t miss WaleMania, either, as the two AEW stars had a great time on stage in front of the live crowd.
AEW is planning even more pay-per-view events in 2024, and they will have a chance to introduce Dynasty to fans in April. The card is coming together, and they booked another title match this week.
AEW Dynasty will go down in St. Louis on April 21. It will be the first-ever event of its kind, as Tony Khan’s company adds another pay-per-view to their schedule of events.
During AEW Dynamite this week, Willow Nightingale won a four-way match to become the #1 contender for Julia Hart’s TBS Title. Also, in the main event, Swerve Strickland became the #1 contender for Samoa Joe’s AEW World Title.
New AEW Dynasty Title Matches
Willow Nightingale emerged as the top contender for the TBS Championship after winning a four-way match on the March 27 episode of AEW Dynamite. She did so with Mercedes Mone on the commentary booth, where she provided insight during the contest.
Competing against Anna Jay, Skye Blue, and Kris Statlander, Nightingale secured the victory by pinning Anna Jay with a Doctor Bomb. Following her win, it was revealed that Nightingale would face Julia Hart for the title at AEW’s upcoming Dynasty pay-per-view.
Swerve Strickland also beat Konosuke Takeshita in the main event of the night, earning a number one contender spot for Samoa Joe’s AEW World Championship. Following his win, it was promptly announced that Strickland’s title challenge against Samoa Joe will headline AEW Dynasty on April 21 in New Orleans.
AEW Dynasty Plans
As of this writing, Mercedes Mone does not have a match booked for AEW Dynasty. She certainly seemed interested in the conclusion of this #1 contender match for the TBS Title.
AEW Dynasty will be the first-ever event of its kind, and it will go down on April 21 in St Louis. SEScoops will have full coverage of the event as we get closer to the big date.
AEW Dynasty Card (So Far):
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Title
Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson
TBD vs. TBD: Tournament final for the vacant AEW World Tag Team Championship
Julia Hart (c) vs. Willow Nightingale: Singles match for the AEW TBS Championship
Should women be blading in professional wrestling? Willow Nightingale says yes.
While blood is common in men’s matches for promotions that allow blood, women’s wrestling has often gone years if not decades without a single laceration.
That has changed in recent years, though there are some (including Ric Flair) who are opposed to the idea of women blading.
The Tag Match
During the January 13, AEW Rampage, Nightingale teamed with Ruby Soho to face Tay Melo and Anna Jay, which saw plenty of the red viscous liquid.
Speaking on The Sessions, Nightingale recalled the match and the restrictions put in place before the bell rung.
“We are all very excited to be given the opportunity to do something like this. Anna and Tay have already done this a year ago on Television. They had a lot of fun with it. There are limits, I guess, on how grotesque it’s allowed to be. I can only speak from my experience. I don’t know if this is the case with other matches, other tag matches, or men’s wrestling. I don’t know what those conversations are like. I only know the conversations that we had and for us, it was that one person from each team was allowed to bleed.
“We all wanted to get our hands dirty and we all wanted to do crazy stuff.”
Willow Nightingale.
“We all wanted to get our hands dirty and we all wanted to do crazy stuff, but we were like ‘okay, understood.’ We didn’t have to worry about it because Ruby bled enough for everybody. I felt it was awesome, I thought she looked killer. She thought she looked great. She had to get stitched up after and I held her hand as she got injected [with an anesthetic.]”
The match saw Soho and Nightingale get the win in the main event of Rampage
Backlash
While the match was lauded by many, many fans also criticized the match, arguing that the level of blood wasn’t fitting for a women’s division match.
Speaking about the negative response, Nightingale felt fans needed reminding that countless women will bleed once a month, whether they want to or not.
“We were just really excited about everything and I think if people are getting their panties in a bunch about [women blading in wrestling,] then that’s the least of your concerns. Like, we bleed every single month. Nobody talks about that, and I’m sure if that happened [in the match] or if it happened ever on the show, people would make a big deal about that too. You know, If someone was to bleed through their gear.”
“If people are getting their panties in a bunch about [women blading in wrestling,] then that’s the least of your concerns.”
Willow Nightingale.
“We bleed the same as men do. We take the same bumps in the ring as they do. We’re at the same risk so I just don’t understand why there has to be a double standard about physically seeing blood. Ultimately, it’s what we signed up for. We were aware of this possibility.”
Willow Nightingale was supposed to battle Penelope Ford last night but the 30-year-old was pulled from AEW Rampage with an injury. Nightingale was given a new opponent, Leila Grey of The Baddies.
The match went back and forth but eventually, Nightingale took control. Willow hit a Spinebuster and then a Powerbomb for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Tony Schiavone got into the ring to interview Willow. He announced that Nightingale was officially All Elite and the crowd cheered. Willow celebrated for a moment but it was short-lived.
TBS Champion Jade Cargill interrupted and demanded that Nyla Rose return her title. Rose was then shown outside Daily’s Place in Jacksonville with Marina Shafir and Vickie Guerrero. Nyla laughed and drove away with the TBS Championship as Jade Cargill beat down several AEW security guards.
Backstage Update on Willow Nightingale Signing with All Elite Wrestling
According to a new report from Fightful Select, it was known that Willow had signed with All Elite Wrestling in some capacity, but wasn’t confirmed to be full-time until the October 21st edition of Rampage. Nightingale now has merchandise on the AEW Shop.
Fightful added that when Nightingale finished with MLW, they believed that she was going to sign a full-time deal with another company. The report noted that independent promotions did not have to go through AEW to book Nightingale over the summer. Backstage reaction to the Nightingale signing is said to be very positive.
I didn’t even see that it was on that giant screen right behind me? Sometimes life is a dream https://t.co/f4ei2hJeOx
Nightingale debuted with All Elite Wrestling in May last year. She wrestled at ROH Death Before Dishonor earlier this year and defeated Allysin Kay.
Tony Khan tells me he believes @willowwrestles has improved a lot in the time he's known her, and says she works incredibly hard. He believes she can be a face of a women's division. He's excited about her growth, and sees her as a strong featured wrestler for #ROH or #AEW.
AEW star Kris Statlander spoke with SEScoops correspondent Jaychele Nicole this week.
Since AEW Double Or Nothing, we have seen Statlander pair up with Athena and sometimes other women in the division to take on Jade Cargill and The Baddies. Kris Statlander has long been a crowd favorite. Particularly in her Owen Hart Tournament match with Ruby Soho, Statlander was able to turn the crowd around and gain overwhelming support during the match.
Kris Statlander’s Feud With Red Velvet
Kris has been in a feud with Red Velvet who she has a long history with. Prior to Kris’ recent character change, she teamed with Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch a few times. Leyla would eventually turn on Kris and Velvet, which led to Statlander’s character change. When Hikaru Shida needed to be replaced in the Women’s Owen Hart tournament, Statlander took her place and defeated Red Velvet to advance. They also faced off on the June 10 edition of AEW Rampage where Statlander once again defeated Velvet.
Kris Statlander commented on the possibility of her feud with Red Velvet continuing despite the history of their friendship.
Stalander said, “Uh, it might. If it is, I am not complaining because she’s small and she’s very easy to throw. And you know, when we were friends I loved her to death and you know, everyone goes their separate ways sometimes friends don’t last forever, unfortunately. But I don’t mind if she’s someone that I have to see all the time.”
Statlander On Slapping The Back Of Stokely Hathaway’s Head
Statlander recently slapped Jade Cargill’s publicist Stokely Hathaway on the June 17 edition of Rampage. Following Willow Nightingale’s match with Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship, Kris Statlander came out to help rescue Willow and Athena from the beatdown that they were receiving from Jade and The Baddies (Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet). While running down to the ring, Statlander slapped Stokely on the back of the head before getting into the ring.
Kris Statlander slapping the shit out of Stokely Hathaway on her way down to the ring was fucking hilarious hahahah #AEWRampagepic.twitter.com/KrZ8z63uis
Statlander had the following to say about slapping Stokely, “I mean, I saw him as I was getting ready to run out. I saw him walking down there. And I was like, ‘Oh, he deserves it because he’s annoying that he had it coming.’ So, I guess you can say, sort of planned it as in like, we all want to. But, just when the opportunity arrives. Oh, it was gonna happen for sure.”
Statlander On Working With Willow Nightingale
Statlander and Athena said on the June 22 that they had Willow Nightingale in their corner when taking on Jade and The Baddies. Willow has been a big crowd favorite and has received great reactions during her AEW appearances. Willow took on Mercedes Martinez at ROH Supercard of Honor for the Interim ROH Women’s Championship back in April. Since they, Willow has been fighting off Jade and The Baddies.
Statlander spoke about the possibility of Willow joining her and Athena and Willow being on TV more.
“I hope so considering that we said that we had her on our side. So, it’d be great if she were able to join us. So yeah, I really hope that you know if there ever comes a time to do maybe we gotta take down Jade and The Baddies all together as a group. I do hope that she’s one that’s on our side. She’s someone that I’ve known for a very long time, way before AEW, so I love working with her,” Statlander commented.
The Possibility Of Kris Statlander Vs Jade Cargill
Kris Statlander vs Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship is a match that has been long hyped up. Many believe that Kris Statlander may be the first person to defeat Jade Cargill, and that she will be the one to take the belt away from Jade. Especially during her recent feud with Jade and The Baddies, many believes that the booking around the TBS Championship may be working towards having Kris finally challenge Jade. These two have never faced each other one on one.
When asked about the possibility of facing Jade and what fans could expect from the match, Kris said, “I’m gonna say you’re gonna see Jade’s toughest challenge ever. Yet. Ever, maybe, we’ll see. But um, I appreciate everyone that’s supporting the idea of me being the first one to beat her. That would be really cool, but we gotta get the match booked first. So don’t don’t get your hopes up until we see that graphic. Okay. That’s all I’m gonna say is, if it happens, it happens if it doesn’t. Don’t get your panties in a twist over it. Life goes on. I’ll get something one day, maybe one day will be my time to shine, but if not.”
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original course with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.
AEW may be on the verge of signing Willow Nightingale if they haven’t already.
Nightingale has made several appearances for AEW. For the most part, she has been eating pinfalls to more established stars but she hasn’t exactly been presented as an enhancement talent.
Nightingale is quite active in her matches and even picked up a win on AEW Dark this week. Following the victory, AEW seemingly dropped a big hint regarding the future of Willow Nightingale.
Willow Nightingale Off The Market?
After Nightingale picked up her first AEW win, the camera zoomed in on a fan sign calling for her to be signed.
So Willow Nightingale wins her first AEW match on Dark this week, and then the AEW production team zooms in on a particular sign in the crowd.
Back in April, Nightingale was asked about potentially signing with AEW or even ROH. She shared her positive outlook (h/t Fightful).
“It’s looking positive. I don’t have anything solid that I can tell anyone, but things are looking good. I’ve wrestled there and had nine matches and there were definitely moments on that journey where I was like, ‘what is going on?’ Moments of frustration, but especially the last couple of weeks, I’ve been re-affirmed, ‘trust the process, keep going.’ Stay on this journey folks.”
Many feel it’s only a matter of time before Nightingale puts pen to paper but we’ll keep you posted once something concrete surfaces.
