Kris Statlander is ready to beat the odds.
AEW Full Gear will see Kris Statlander defend her TBS Championship against Skye Blue and Julia Hart. Before we get there, Statlander will team with Hikaru Shida on Friday’s special edition of Collision against Saraya and Ruby Soho.
Statlander spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about how she’s approaching both matches. She views the Collision tag team match as a good test to get her ready for Saturday night’s title defense.
“I think it’s very exciting. First of all, I love to team with Shida. She’s one of my favorite tag partners ever. I think we can look at it as a warm-up in a way, just getting ourselves ready for [Full Gear] the next day. I feel confident with our opponents, knowing that we have beaten them before,” Statlander said. “We’re both champions and I think a good win under our belts right before our pay-per-view title defenses is going to help boost our confidence.”
Statlander has already beaten Julia Hart and Skye Blue to retain her title in individual matches. She has the odds against her in a three-way, but she believes size and being prepared will help her come out on top.
“Like you said, I have beaten them both before already, which is already a good thing. It makes me feel better about [the odds against me at Full Gear]. I do have to worry about an extra body being in there, and trying to be on top of everybody and everything at all costs just to make sure the title stays where it belongs. But I’m the biggest one in the match,” she noted. “If things get crazy, I can just throw them around and put them where I need to. So, hopefully it doesn’t get to that and hopefully I come out the champion.”
Watch for the shoe…
Kris Statlander is not looking past the challenge at Full Gear. However, she still hopes to get a singles match against Toni Storm, who will face Shida at Saturday’s pay-per-view.
“I am still dying for my singles match with Toni Storm. I would love to have that one. There’s a lot of people. I know I’ve defended my title quite a few times,” Statlander explained, “but there’s still so many more girls that I would love to give a chance to try and take it from me.”
AEW Full Gear takes place on Saturday, November 18. Watch our full interview with AEW TBS Champion Kris Statlander below:
