AEW All In is still over a month away. In the meantime, there is still one more PPV on the road to Wembley: this coming Sunday’s Redemption in Montreal, Canada.
Multiple titles are on the line, including proud Kenny Omega defending AEW World Championship on home soil against TNT Champion Kevin Knight. There, is however, a particular matchup that is less predictable than the rest.
It is the AEW Women’s World Championship match between Thekla and Willow Nightingale. Women’s Owen Hart Tournament winner Mercedes Mone awaits the winner, so who should it be?
Thekla has been on fire since joining AEW last year. The star immediately established herself with an attack on Jamie Hayter and formed an alliance with promising youngsters Julia Hart and Skye Blue (the latter pictured below).
The three, together called the Triangle of Madness, became a menace within the AEW women’s division. They were among the winners of the first-ever women’s Blood and Guts match, setting the stage for what has been a very successful 2026 so far.
At March’s Revolution, Thekla captured the AEW Women’s World Championship from Kris Statlander. Since then, she has defended it against the likes of Statlander, Hayter, Hikaru Shida, and World Wonder RIng Stardom’s Starlight Kid.
Speaking of Stardom, the Triangle of Madness clinched more gold last Saturday. During the opening day of the 5 Star Grand Prix, Thekla, Hart, and Blue won the Artist of Stardom Championships (the joshi promotion’s trios belts). It marked the first time a group from outside the promotion had won the titles, and it led to much blowback from fans.
The group, however, do not care – they want more gold. Hart and Blue will challenge the physically imposing Lena Kross and Megan Bayne for the Women’s World Tag Team Championships on Wednesday’s Dynamite. A win could cement the Triangle of Madness as among the most successful women’s factions in recent wrestling history.
Back to Thekla, a retention at Redemption will secure her dream match with Mone. Both women are heels with massive egos and friends who will protect them from assaults. They will hurl insults at each other, and they will come to blows at some point, which could prompt a no-contact clause.
Standing on the other side is Nightingale, AEW’s resident bubbly mega-babyface. The name alone indicates her good-girl character, but she is also a 5’6″, 183-lb. powerhouse who can effortlessly toss foes at will.
First joining the AEW fold in 2021, Nightingale has proven very successful over the five years she has been with the promotion. Nightingale won the 2023 Women’s Owen Hart Tournament. The veteran and Harley Cameron were the inaugural Women’s World Tag Team Champions. Most importantly of all, she is a two-time TBS Champion.
Speaking of the TBS Championship, it has been a key element in Mone and Nightingale’s rivalry.
The first time they fought each other, however, was at NJPW Resurgence in May 2023. Mone, five months removed from leaving WWE, was supposed to win and become the inaugural Strong Women’s Champion. Alas, a mid-match ankle injury led to a shift in plans and a win for Nightingale.
The second time was just over a year later at Double or Nothing. Nightingale was the TBS Champion entering the match, but a betrayal from erstwhile-friend Kris Statlander clinched the title for Mone.
“The CEO” then had a record-breaking reign that lasted 584 days, during which she also captured various other championships. It finally ended at New Year’s Smash on New Year’s Eve 2025, and the person who did the honors was none other than Nightingale.
Now, their paths could cross again. If that happens, will Nightingale once again prove herself the superior woman? Will Mone even the score and clinch the title that she has long pined for?
The intrigue surrounding the AEW Women’s World Championship stand in stark contrast to the men’s title.
It is a given that Omega will not be dethroned in his home country – especially with a trilogy bout against Men’s Owen winner Will Ospreay looming. Tony Khan may have already had the ending to that mapped out – Ospreay wins (and maybe kisses his wife Alex Windsor), fireworks erupt, and “Rule Britannia” plays. It is a series of predictable outcomes that will garner a massive financial boost for the promotion
By contrast, nothing looks certain with the Women’s title, and sometimes, uncertainty creates success. Either way, AEW did the right thing by having Mone win the Owen instead of Maya World, though…
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