While it should be safe to say that AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla is moving on from former champ Kris Statlander after three definitive wins over her, one including when she initially won the title, we’re seeing quite a few feuds, like Toni Storm and Marina Shafir, as well as Darby Allin and Gabe Kidd, continue on to this week’s “Dynamite.” While Statlander very well could say she and Thekla were tied one fall to one during their two-out-of-three falls match, as Thekla cheated and held the ropes to get her first fall, we hope that AEW is going to go in a different direction for the women’s top title.

However, that different direction is a difficult one to figure out, and we likely won’t see any new challengers emerge for Thekla on “Dynamite,” and we probably won’t even hear from the champion until “AEW Collision” on Saturday. The main issue, however, is that many of the women on AEW’s roster are currently tied up in the tag team division. Alex Windsor and Jamie Hayter are now the Brawling Birds and seem set for a title victory at All In, despite that event not being until August. Megan Bayne and Lena Kross won the AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships at Revolution, so it doesn’t look like Bayne is stepping up anytime soon.

AEW is currently seeing quite a few exciting returns, and it’s possible that could continue. While Britt Baker has confirmed it’s “not up to her” when she’s back, likely signaling that a return isn’t imminent, Hikaru Shida has been back in the United States following visa issues, and was even backstage at “Dynamite” at one point, as revealed in a January update on her status. Queen Aminata is another possible challenger and AEW return, though she’s still recovering from a neck injury and hasn’t provided a timeline on when she’s getting back in the ring. Of course, there’s Mercedes Mone, who is currently on a hiatus from AEW as she continues to drop titles around the world, but it doesn’t seem likely that she’ll be back until at least Dynasty next month, as AEW would likely want her showing up at a big event.

For now, Thekla’s next major challenger is unknown, but she could fight off challengers like Mina Shirakawa, Harley Cameron, Hyan, Maya World, and others on “Collision” until Mone’s return, or even possibly when Storm is free of her feud with Shafir in the coming weeks. As for Statlander, things are even more unclear, though there is always her feud with frenemy Willow Nightingale and the TBS Championship to go back to, if AEW wants her in contention for any title at all right now.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Chris Masters has opened up about a major WrestleMania moment that almost changed the trajectory of his WWE career, revealing that he and Carlito were originally set to capture tag team gold on one of the biggest stages of them all.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Masters shared that plans were firmly in place for the duo to win the WWE Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 22, only for everything to change at the last possible moment.

“Carlito and me were supposed to win them at that WrestleMania, but it literally got switched like the day before,” Masters said. “We were penciled in to win it. But then Carlito, they wanted him to turn babyface, and the Spirit Squad, they kind of wanted to get the belts on them somehow to give them some steam. And so that was that.”

The sudden decision shifted the direction of multiple storylines, with the Spirit Squad ultimately gaining momentum instead, while Masters and Carlito were left without the defining title victory they had been building toward.

Masters reflected on how that missed opportunity was not an isolated case during his early WWE run. He pointed to another instance where he was set for championship success, only for real life circumstances to intervene. A planned Intercontinental Championship win in Las Vegas was scrapped when WWE stepped in over concerns about his prescription painkiller use, sending him to rehab on the very day the match was supposed to take place.

Looking back, Masters admitted there were lessons to be learned from that period of his career, even if the outcomes were frustrating at the time.

“Hindsight is always 20/20,” Masters said. “There is a lot of stuff that I would have probably done differently or that I wish I had known back then, but I know now.”

During their time together, Masters and Carlito were a consistent presence on WWE programming, frequently featured on Raw and positioned as a strong tag team within the division. Despite never capturing championship gold, their pairing remained memorable among fans of that era.

Outside of WWE, the two have maintained a close friendship and continue to share the ring on the independent scene. Masters noted that they are still teaming together and are scheduled for upcoming appearances, including shows in Maine.

Although he never secured a title during his WWE tenure across two separate runs, Masters has remained active in wrestling, competing for promotions such as NWA and GCW. He has often pointed to his post WWE career as a period where he delivered some of his strongest in ring performances, making the most of opportunities that came later in his journey.