Kris Statlander Confirms Injury: 'I'm Sorry To Let You All Down Once Again'
While there were many things to like about the special "AEW Dynamite: Quake By The Lake" episode last night, one thing that wasn't popular was the announcement that Kris Statlander had suffered an injury to her knee, removing her from contention for the AEW Women's World Championship and AEW TBS Championship. Occurring arguably during the hottest run of her career, Statlander appeared to injure herself during a match against Sierra on "AEW Dark", landing awkwardly on her leg in the home stretch of the bout.
The question then became the seriousness of the injury. A report earlier Thursday morning revealed Statlander was on crutches backstage at "Dynamite" last night, and that sources in AEW felt her knee had been injured badly, though there wasn't any confirmation that she would miss time. That confirmation has now come, however, from Statlander herself, who took to Twitter Thursday afternoon to clairfy the bad news.
Statlander Says She'll Be Back Stronger Than Ever
"Welp. One knee fixed, one to go," Statlander tweeted. "After the first knee injury I came back stronger and better than ever, so it's all over for you all when I come back from this one. I'm sorry to let you all done once again. I'll be back bigger, more powerful, and more than a woman." Statlander, who celebrated her 27th birthday on August 5, had previously torn her ACL in her left leg back in June 2020. She would be out of action for over a year before returning in March 2021. Statlander did not provide a time table for how long she would be out of action this time.
Statlander's injury confirmation led to an outpouring of support from wrestlers in AEW and other companies, including AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa, Tay Melo, Abadon, Impact star Killer Kelly, independent wrestlers Alex Zayne and Lady Frost, and WWE stars Natalya and Bayley.
"Wishing you the best recovery," Bayley tweeted to Statlander. "You're really good."