# Kris Statlander
**Kris Statlander** (born Kristen Stadtlander, 1995) is an American professional wrestler signed to [All Elite Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-elite-wrestling) (AEW), known for her power-based in-ring style and for the alien persona she used early in her career under the name "The Galaxy's Greatest Alien".[1](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Kris_Statlander) • [2](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/10/kris-statlander-reveals-origins-of-her-alien-persona-676138/) She is a former AEW TBS Champion and a former AEW Women's World Champion, and she is the first woman to have won both titles.[3](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=20328&page=98)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, as Kristen Stadtlander[1](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Kris_Statlander) |
| Training | Create A Pro Wrestling Academy, Hicksville, New York, beginning in early 2017[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) |
| First title | VPW Women's Championship, won by defeating Karen Q in June 2017[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) |
| Signature injury | Torn ACL suffered on a dive on June 10, 2020; surgery on July 28, 2020[5](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/) |
| TBS Championship | Won from Jade Cargill on May 28, 2023 at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas; reign lasted 174 days[6](https://aewresults.com/wrestler/kris-statlander/) |
| TBS title loss | Lost to Julia Hart in a three-way match also involving Skye Blue at AEW Full Gear, November 18, 2023[7](https://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profile/kris-statlander/) |
| AEW Women's World Championship | Won at AEW All Out 2025; lost to Thekla on the February 11, 2026 episode of Dynamite[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_6FhoiN4g) • [9](https://elearning.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/lectures/user/2025-12/video-aew-world-end-hd-745565555555.pdf) • [17](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-womens-championship-history) |
## Training and independent career
Statlander began her wrestling pursuits in early 2017 at the Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in Hicksville, New York, the school that also produced fellow AEW wrestler [Maxwell Jacob Friedman](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxwell-jacob-friedman).[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) While training and working for Create A Pro, she appeared for Victory Pro Wrestling in Centerreach, where she challenged Karen Q (later Wendy Choo in WWE's NXT brand) for the VPW Women's Championship in April and defeated her for the title the following June, her first championship.[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) She debuted for [Combat Zone Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/combat-zone-wrestling) in October against Maria Manic and for the New Jersey promotion WrestlePro in November.[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/)
Her 2019 schedule ranged widely across the Northeastern independent scene, including Beyond Wrestling, Chaotic Wrestling, and Limitless Wrestling.[1](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Kris_Statlander) In February 2019 she won Beyond's Treasure Hunter tournament, defeating David Starr, Jordynne Grace, and Chris Dickinson in successive rounds, and in March she defeated Grace for the WSU Spirit Championship.[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) On the April 9, 2019 episode of SmackDown she made a one-off WWE appearance as one of "The Brooklyn Belles" with a wrestler named Karissa, losing to the Women's Tag Team Champions The IIconics.[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) In May 2019 she defeated [Orange Cassidy](https://www.edgepedia.org/orange-cassidy) for the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship, a title Cassidy won back the following month.[4](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/) A 2019 match against Nick Gage for Beyond Wrestling's Uncharted Territory series was described by one reviewer as her career match to that point.[10](https://handwerkreviews.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/nick-gage-vs-kris-statlander-beyond-wrestling-uncharted-territory-2x01-10-3-2019/)
## AEW career
**The alien persona.** Statlander joined AEW and presented herself as an alien, a character she has said was not drawn from science fiction fandom; she has stated she is neither a [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) nor a [Star Trek](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-trek) fan and had never seen either series.[11](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/kris-statlander-reveals-origin-alien-gimmick-says-she-s-never-seen-star-wars-or-star-trek/) She has explained that the gimmick plays off how she felt alienated in school, and that it let her speak with actions rather than words.[11](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/kris-statlander-reveals-origin-alien-gimmick-says-she-s-never-seen-star-wars-or-star-trek/) After criticism that the character consisted only of dots and lines painted on her face, she adopted a more visual look with purple and green hair on opposite sides, presenting the green side as alien skin emerging from her head.[5](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/) She has said the persona is not a character in the usual sense: "Whether I'm in my whole alien zone or not, this is how I act."[12](https://www.si.com/wrestling/2020/10/22/aew-kris-statlander-masked-wrestler-youtube) The gimmick was dropped in AEW in 2022.[13](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2022/05/kris-statlander-explains-why-her-alien-gimmick-was-dropped-in-aew/)
**ACL injury and recovery.** Statlander tore her ACL on June 10, 2020, injured on a dive through the ropes at a live show. She has described feeling a sensation in her knee without a large pop or significant pain, and walking to the back unaided; an MRI showed the ligament, in the words of her doctor Doc Sampson, "hanging on by a thread".[5](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/) Surgery was delayed until July 28, 2020 because swelling had to subside and because of precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic; she had not wanted to wait.[5](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/) During recovery she appeared as a panelist on the IWTV series *The Masked Wrestler*, a masked-wrestler guessing show, with AEW's approval.[12](https://www.si.com/wrestling/2020/10/22/aew-kris-statlander-masked-wrestler-youtube) She returned to the ring after roughly seven and a half to eight months, later saying she was glad the surgeons had made her wait despite her frustration at the time.[5](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/)
**TBS Champion.** On May 28, 2023 at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas, Statlander answered [Jade Cargill](https://www.edgepedia.org/jade-cargill)'s open challenge immediately after Cargill's title defense against [Taya Valkyrie](https://www.edgepedia.org/taya-valkyrie) and defeated her to win the TBS Championship, ending a reign that had begun on January 5, 2022.[14](https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/aew/aew-tbs.html) Her own reign lasted 174 days.[6](https://aewresults.com/wrestler/kris-statlander/) She lost the title at [AEW Full Gear](https://www.edgepedia.org/aew-full-gear) on November 18, 2023, when Julia Hart defeated Statlander and Skye Blue in a three-way match in Inglewood, California.[7](https://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profile/kris-statlander/) • [14](https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/aew/aew-tbs.html)
**Women's World Champion.** Statlander won the [AEW Women's World Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/aew-womens-world-championship) at All Out 2025, announced as the new champion in AEW's post-event media scrum on September 21, 2025.[8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_6FhoiN4g) With that title she became the first woman to hold both the AEW Women's World Championship and the TBS Championship.[3](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=20328&page=98) Her reign did not end at Worlds End in December 2025, where she retained the championship by defeating her challenger, [Jamie Hayter](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-hayter).[9](https://elearning.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/lectures/user/2025-12/video-aew-world-end-hd-745565555555.pdf) • [18](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/post/aew-worlds-end-results-december-27-2025) She received a rematch against the new champion, Thekla, at [AEW Revolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/aew-revolution) 2026, contested as a best two-out-of-three-falls match.[15](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/sports/watch-aew-revolution-2026)
## Wrestling style and reception
Statlander works a power-based style unusual for her division, combining strength moves with high-flying maneuvers such as a 450 splash, and she has competed in gimmick and hardcore matches on the independent circuit.[12](https://www.si.com/wrestling/2020/10/22/aew-kris-statlander-masked-wrestler-youtube) • [16](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=111&nr=140762) Her matches are rated on the CAGEMATCH database, where her 2026 singles match against Miyu Yamashita for Pro-[Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrestling): EVE carried an average user rating of 7.92 from 53 votes.[16](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=111&nr=140762) User commentary on the database has generally praised her in-ring versatility while noting that her character and promo work have been points of criticism during her championship runs.[3](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=20328&page=98)
## References
1. [Kris Statlander, Pro Wrestling Fandom](https://prowrestling.fandom.com/wiki/Kris_Statlander)
2. [Kris Statlander Reveals Origins Of Her Alien Persona, Wrestling Inc.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/10/kris-statlander-reveals-origins-of-her-alien-persona-676138/)
3. [Kris Statlander Ratings, CAGEMATCH](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=20328&page=98)
4. [Kris Statlander – From Alien To Champion, ProWrestlingPost](https://prowrestlingpost.com/kris-statlander/)
5. [Kris Statlander Responds To Criticism Of Her Alien Character, Wrestling Inc.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/05/kris-statlander-talks-criticisms-of-her-alien-character/)
6. [Kris Statlander, AEW Record](https://aewresults.com/wrestler/kris-statlander/)
7. [Kris Statlander, Online World of Wrestling](https://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profile/kris-statlander/)
8. [NEW AEW Women's World Champion Kris Statlander | AEW All Out Media Scrum, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_6FhoiN4g)
9. [AEW Worlds End 2025 listing](https://elearning.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/lectures/user/2025-12/video-aew-world-end-hd-745565555555.pdf)
10. [Nick Gage vs. Kris Statlander, Beyond Wrestling Uncharted Territory 2×01, HANDWERK reviews](https://handwerkreviews.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/nick-gage-vs-kris-statlander-beyond-wrestling-uncharted-territory-2x01-10-3-2019/)
11. [Kris Statlander Reveals Origin Of Alien Gimmick, Fightful](https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/kris-statlander-reveals-origin-alien-gimmick-says-she-s-never-seen-star-wars-or-star-trek/)
12. [Q&A: Kris Statlander on Her ACL Recovery and Role on 'The Masked Wrestler', Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/wrestling/2020/10/22/aew-kris-statlander-masked-wrestler-youtube)
13. [Kris Statlander Explains Why Her Alien Gimmick Was Dropped In AEW, Wrestling Inc.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2022/05/kris-statlander-explains-why-her-alien-gimmick-was-dropped-in-aew/)
14. [AEW TBS Title, wrestling-titles.com](https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/aew/aew-tbs.html)
15. [How to watch AEW Revolution 2026, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/sports/watch-aew-revolution-2026)
16. [Kris Statlander vs. Miyu Yamashita, CAGEMATCH](https://www.cagematch.net/?id=111&nr=140762)
17. [Aew Womens Championship History, allelitewrestling.com](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-womens-championship-history)
18. [Aew Worlds End Results December 27 2025, allelitewrestling.com](https://www.allelitewrestling.com/post/aew-worlds-end-results-december-27-2025)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestlers and stables › American wrestlers › Modern era wrestlers › AEW wrestlers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license