Kris Statlander Defeats Thekla On AEW Dynamite In 5th Defense Of Women's World Title

Kris Statlander has had her hands full as the AEW Women's World Champion over the past few months, but she had not yet defended her title since the turn of the new year. That all changed on the January 28 episode of "AEW Dynamite" when she went one-on-one with "The Toxic Spider" Thekla. Despite a lot of animosity between the two and tensions running high heading into the bout, Statlander got the victory and made her first title defense of 2026.

Thekla attempted to get in Statlander's head in the opening moments, but Statlander would use her brute strength to take control with a delayed vertical Suplex and a Slingshot into the steel steps on the outside. However, the champion played to the crowd a little too long and Thekla got back into things with kicks and stomps as the match entered the commercial break. During the break, it was all Thekla as she whipped Statlander all over the ringside area, continuing to wear the champion down once the action returned to the ring with a quick series of covers. The challenger then used a series of strikes and submissions to keep Statlander grounded.

Coming out of the break, Statlander got back into the bout, countering Thekla's inverted Tarantula by catapulting her face first into the turnbuckles. Statlander then hit a Michinoku Driver for a near fall, and just as Thekla looked to cut the champion off, she got hit with a vicious lariat as Statlander looked to go to the top. Thekla joined her on the top turnbuckle and hit a Spider Suplex from the top and followed it up with a crossbody to the outside, but when the action returned to the ring, Thekla couldn't make the cover after hitting a Spear due to exhaustion.

A strike exchange led to Thekla spitting in Statlander's face, leading to the challenger locking in a Flying Octopus Hold and wrenching the arm back to set up a Curb Stomp. Statlander countered the Spear into a Wednesday Night Fever, which was then countered into a roll up for a near fall for the challenger. Statlander missed a Discus Lariat as Thekla ducked out the way, but the champion used Thekla's momentum against her by grabbing her and hitting a Gut-Wrench Powerbomb, and followed that up by hitting the Wednesday Night Fever for the victory, retaining her title in the process. 

After the bout, The Babes of Wrath joined Statlander in the ring to celebrate, but they were distracted by Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford who arrived at the top of the ramp to stare down the three champions.