Kris Statlander Returns, Beats Jade Cargill for TBS Title at AEW Double or Nothing

Jade Cargill's arrogance finally got the better of her at AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday night.

After successfully defending her TBS championship and improving her record to 60-0 with a victory over beat Taya Valkyrie, Jade decided to issue another open challenge.

The returning Kris Statlander answered the challenge and quickly hit the champion with a cradle tombstone for the pinfall.

Statlander has been out of action since August when she underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL and lateral meniscus. This was her first televised match since July 13, 2022, when she and Athena defeated the Renegade Twins at Fyter Fest.

Perhaps the toughest challenge of Cargill's TBS title run emerged in March when Valkyrie made her All Elite Wrestling debut by confronting the champ.

In April, she was given her first opportunity to challenge Cargill for the TBS Championship, but she fell short in somewhat controversial fashion, as she was not allowed to use her finisher in the match.

Mark Sterling, who represents Cargill, was able to negotiate a stipulation that Valkyrie could not use her Road to Valhalla finisher in the match since it infringed on Cargill's similar Jaded finisher.

Valkyrie had Jade hooked for Road to Valhalla and perhaps would have been trending toward a victory in a normal match, but she had to release the move to avoid getting disqualified, and Cargill took advantage by rolling her up for the pinfall victory.

Given the circumstances surrounding Cargill's win, Valkyrie was granted a rematch at Double or Nothing without any restrictions on which maneuvers she could use.

While Valkyrie is still early in her AEW tenure, she looked like an immediate threat to Jade due largely to what she has accomplished all over the world.

The Canadian had a relatively short stint in WWE as part of NXT that didn't yield any title wins, but she is a four-time AAA Reina de Reinas champion, a one-time Impact Wrestling Knockouts champion and a one-time MLW women's featherweight champion.

Valkyrie has significantly more experience in pro wrestling than Cargill as well, but Jade has been in AEW far longer, and has seemingly always found a way to win and retain her title.

Cargill was able to get the best of Valkyrie, but her nearly two-year reign of dominance has come to an end thanks to Statlander. The loss also allows AEW to set up a long-term program between the two stars with Cargill chasing the title for the first time.

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