Kris Statlander

Kris Statlander
Kristen Stadtlander (born August 7, 1995) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Kris Statlander. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling where she is a member of the Best Friends stable, and is the current AEW TBS Champion in her first reign. She has also performed on the independent circuit.
Early life and training
Statlander was born in West Islip, New York on Long Island. After working professionally as a stunt double, she began her professional wrestling training under Pat Buck and Brian Myers at the Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in Hicksville, New York in 2016. Statlander later became the first female graduate of the academy.
Career
Beginnings (2016–2019)
Statlander made her professional wrestling debut in November 2016. Statlander made an appearance for WWE on an episode of SmackDown Live that aired on April 9, 2019, teaming with Karissa Rivera in a losing effort against the then-WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. In June that same year, she competed at an event for the promotion Beyond Wrestling in an intergender match against Joey Janela in a losing effort. She made her final appearance for Create A Pro Wrestling, the promotion under which she trained, in December 2019., until 2023.
All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)
Statlander made her debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on November 19, 2019, competing in a tag team match alongside Big Swole against Riho and Britt Baker on Dark, where Statlander and Swole were defeated. In December, AEW announced that Statlander had signed with the promotion. Following her signing, she defeated Baker on the December 18 episode of Dynamite to become the No. 1 contender for the AEW Women's World Championship. Statlander competed against Riho for the AEW Women's World title on the January 8, 2020, episode of Dynamite, where she was defeated due to interferences by Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Mel, and the debuting Luther. She received another opportunity to compete for the title on February 29, 2020, at Revolution, this time against new champion Nyla Rose, where she was once again defeated. In June 2020, Statlander suffered an ACL injury in her left leg during an episode of Dynamite.
Statlander returned from injury alongside Trent Beretta on March 31, 2021, helping Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy defeat Miro and Kip Sabian on Dynamite. In September at All Out, she challenged Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship but was unsuccessful. In November, Statlander–along with Trent, Taylor, Cassidy, and Wheeler Yuta–joined the New Japan Pro-Wrestling-based stable Chaos. In August 2022, Statlander suffered a completely torn ACL and lateral meniscus in her right leg during a match on Dark and stated she would need an indefinite amount of time to recover.
Statlander returned at Double or Nothing in May 2023, appearing after a match between then-AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Taya Valkyrie in which Cargill retained her title. She answered Cargill's open challenge to an impromptu match and won, ending Cargill's 60-match undefeated streak and obtaining the AEW TBS Championship.
Professional wrestling style and persona
Statlander originally employed an alien gimmick, which she attributed to her being "a big science nerd". Under this character, she was nicknamed "The Galaxy's Greatest Alien" and billed as having come from the Andromeda Galaxy. Statlander changed her gimmick in 2022 since she felt that with the previous gimmick "I was never really being fully taken seriously", calling the previous character as "too fun, too lovable, I guess, too goofy and easygoing".
Statlander uses a 450° splash and an inverted piledriver as finishers, respectively called Area 451 and the Big Bang Theory. With her change in gimmick, Big Bang Theory was renamed Friday Night Fever, referencing the song "More Than a Woman" by the Bee Gees, which she had used as her theme early in her career.
Championships and accomplishments
AAW Wrestling
AAW Women's Championship (1 time)
All Elite Wrestling
AEW TBS Championship (1 time, current)
Create A Pro Wrestling
CAP Television Championship (1 time)
Inaugural CAP TV Championship Tournament (2019)
Beyond Wrestling
Treasure Hunter Tournament (2019)
IndependentWrestling.TV
Independent Wrestling Championship (1 time)
New York Wrestling Connection
NYWC Starlet Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 26 of the top 150 female wrestlers in the PWI Women's 100 in 2021
Sports Illustrated
Ranked No. 6 of the top 10 women's wrestlers in 2019
Victory Pro Wrestling
VPW Women's Championship (2 times)
Women Superstars United
WSU World Championship (1 time)
Interim WSU World Championship (1 time)
WSU Spirit Championship (1 time)
References
External links
1995 births
Living people
People from West Islip, New York
All Elite Wrestling personnel
American female professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from New York (state)
Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York
21st-century American women
21st-century female professional wrestlers
AAW Women's Champions
AEW TBS Champions