AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla is scheduled to defend her title against Willow Nightingale at Redemption 2026. The upcoming pay-per-view will take place this Sunday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Fans have high expectations for this show.
Willow Nightingale earned the opportunity to challenge Thekla by winning a Casino Gauntlet match earlier this month at Dynamite: Beach Break. The two women came face-to-face this week. They had a promo battle, which was moderated by WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley. Unfortunately, things got ugly. The Toxic Spider delivered a cheap shot to her challenger. However, the former TBS Champion got the better of this exchange.
Thekla’s attack led to Willow bruising her ear. Mick Foley was present while the latter was getting stitches, and the two had a wholesome exchange. The former WWE star infamously tore his right ear in 1994 during a WCW match against Big Van Vader in Munich, Germany. He told the 32-year-old that they have a lot in common because of this.
“Willow, we already have so much in common. Ear loss never hurt anybody,” said Foley.
Willow responded by saying that she was not expecting the above incident to happen to her.
“You know what, Mick, I was saying I am really similar to you but I wasn’t looking to put my body on the line like this tonight. But we’re here, and we move forward,” she said.
AEW star Willow Nightingale loves her comparison with Mick Foley
Fans often compare Willow Nightingale and Mick Foley for their similar in-ring style. In a 2024 conversation with Bill Apter, the former TBS Champion said that she loves these comparisons and is a huge fan of the legend.
“I love that comparison because I’m a huge Mick Foley fan. When I first started wrestling, I got a lot of inspiration from his ability to be tough, lovable, and have this unconventional build but still be seen as somebody you could them in the position of being at the top of the card. I drew a lot of inspiration from his being unconventional but still lovable but being tough. Playing all these characters. So he’s one of my favorites of all time,” said Willow Nightingale.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the 32-year-old. Hopefully, she will dethrone Thekla this weekend.
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Edited by Debangshu Nath
