AEW's Thekla Talks Forbidden Door Match, Stardom Feud, Fast Food Guilty Pleasures and More

This Sunday, Thekla will defend her AEW Women's World Championship against Starlight Kid from Stardom at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

In some ways, The Toxic Spider has been the face of this year's event. Her feud with her former employers at Stardom has been one of the most active storylines heading into the show, and she is in one of the few cross-promotional title bouts on the card.

Ever since arriving in All Elite Wrestling, the world champion has made more enemies than friends, but the fans have embraced her outspoken personality and intense in-ring style.

We spoke with Thekla ahead of the PPV to talk about feuding with her former employers, transitioning to the United States, her artwork, music and more.

Forbidden Door and Stardom

Bleacher Report: You're about to face Starlight Kid, but you are basically feuding with the Stardom promotion. What are you hoping to accomplish by going after your former boss (Stardom president Taro Okada)?

Thekla: I don't know how this all happened, honestly. I feel like this is one of the longest feuds ever. This has been going on since 2024, essentially, so I'd say around two years.

It's really hit its most critical point right now. I just got back from Japan a couple of hours ago. I was there going after my old boss. There's a fire burning inside me that I just can't seem to take out. Every time I see him, I just want to take him out.

B/R: For anyone who is only familiar with you through AEW, what led to you, as you put it, getting fired from Japan?

Thekla: Oh boy, that's a long list of events. A chain of misunderstandings, I suppose. I got fined a couple of times, I got suspended a couple of times for having misunderstandings with some of the staff members.

I may or may not have slapped some of the civilians who work for Stardom in the face. I ended up breaking my hand and getting a full arm cast, and I used that cast as a weapon.

There was more where that came from and eventually I got fired for attacking the president, my boss in front of a live audience. It was not very well-received.

The Women of AEW

B/R: You have two women fighting for a title shot in the finals of The Owen. Maya World and Mercedes Mone. Do you have a preference on who you face and have you fought either of them before?

Thekla: I have not fought either of them. I've been asked before if I have a preference. I do not have a preference. I'll just let them handle and figure it out and then I'll see them at Wembley.

I'm happy to beat up whoever they serve me.

B/R: One thing that has gotten you a lot of attention is you have a habit of calling some of the other women in AEW "dumb b---hes." I assume Skye Blue and Julia Hart are exempt, but who else would you say does not fall into that category?

Thekla: So yes, there are dumb b---hes, obviously, and there are smart b---hes. So both Skye and Julia are smart b---hes. I would consider Marina Shafir a smart b--h. And so is Megan Bayne. Everybody else I would say, more or less, is a dumb b---h.

Artistic Endeavors

B/R: Was your time doing ballet before or after you studied martial arts?

Thekla: It was before. I was intensely doing ballet and competitions, as well, but under a very strict former Eastern Bloc USSR Slovenian lady who was very harsh with us, and I think at some point I was like, "I'm done here." I quit ballet and I think the week after I started martial arts. It seemed to be a better fit for me.

B/R: You were very involved in athletics when you were young, but you also played music. Do you ever still have time to play?

Thekla: I don't have time to play music anymore, unfortunately. I think the last gig I participated in was in 2024, where I played with one of my favorite Japanese punk bands.

They were kind enough to follow my invitation to play at a party I threw for my second solo exhibition in Tokyo. So that was cool, we got to play together and do a cover of The Sex Pistols.

B/R: You brought up the art exhibition. What got you interested in painting and creating art in general?

Thekla: My mom is a painter. She paints with oils. So, pretty much I was always dancing and singing and acting and drawing. So when I was done with school, I knew I wanted to go to art school and do something with that, and I ended up doing everything. So, yeah, I've always been into art.

Making Music

B/R: Your band was called Death Row Groupies. Is there any chance we get a reunion anytime soon?

Thekla: Oh wow, I have no idea where our drummer is. I hope he's still alive somewhere [laughs]. My bassist and singer are in Vienna currently. I've asked them to come out. I'm not sure if they've still got it in them, honestly.

I think we'll have to try to regroup. I don't know what I have to do but maybe we will have a 10-year reunion or something before we all pass on.

Living in the U.S.

B/R: What has been the hardest part about transitioning to life in the United States?

Thekla: Going from Japan, obviously, coming here, it's been the food, I have to say. Not that American food is particularly good or bad. It's just that Japanese food is that good. So that is something I miss. Wherever you go, it's just outstanding and cheap food.

Another thing is being European and living in Japan for that long, I like walking places. I don't even have a license, to be honest. I don't even know how to drive. So obviously, that is a problem in the States. If I don't get picked up, I will be stranded wherever I go [laughs]. Or I'll be walking for days.

B/R: Are there any other things you miss from Austria and Japan?

Thekla: I do miss the food a lot. I like American food, too, especially where I am. We've got a lot of Mexican food, which has been my new thing for quite a while. I do love me some tacos.

Other than that, I do like the accessibility to culture and going to gigs. Not that you can't do that in the States, but it's so much easier in Tokyo and Vienna and Berlin and wherever else I've lived.

B/R: Have you found a favorite place here when you are looking for food on the road?

Thekla: I've got a guilty pleasure that is Taco Bell. I'm basic like that sometimes. I do love quesadillas, and what is that? The Crunch Wrap Supreme? I've been hooked on that. I'm not proud of that, but it is what it is [laughs]. Everybody's got their thing.

Team Austria

B/R: The FIFA World Cup is going on. Are you a football fan?

Thekla: Yes, I am. I do love going to live games. I love the energy in the stadium. I used to go in Vienna, obviously smaller scale. On the road when we were touring with the band, sometimes we would get to see some games.

I do follow the World Cup. Obviously go Austria. I've also been trying to get tickets but FIFA, they don't need my money. They don't need the exposure. It's been a little challenging playing my "I'm the AEW women's world champion" card [laughs].

Thekla the Freestyle Rapper

B/R: You speak multiple languages, wrestle, do ballet, make art, and play music. Is there anything you are bad at, or are you just good at everything you try?

Thekla: I'm terrible at freestyle rapping, actually. I'm not good at that. Sometimes I have nightmares about it. I wish I was good at it, I don't know why. I think it's because I'm so bad at it. That's the only thing I can't have.

I used to have a big group of friends and they were all phenomenal at freestyle rapping. I would have nightmares of having a mic shoved in my face, and I freestyle two lines, and everybody is like crickets. And then I wake up [laughs].

If there's anything I wish I could be good at, I think it's freestyle rapping.

Movie Review

B/R: We always end our AEW interviews with a movie review. Is there anything you have seen recently that you would like to talk about?

Thekla: Yesterday, I watched Catch Me If You Can for the first time. I thought it was great. Usually when flying, I don't like [watching movies] because the screen is so small and some baby is crying or some stewardess is asking me what I want to drink.

I hate not being fully immersed in the movie, but I thought it was a phenomenal film. I love seeing Leonardo DiCaprio do what he does. He's just, in my opinion, maybe the best actor around. So I really enjoyed it.

I love those heist movies and cat-and-mouse films. It was really cool. Great acting. Great story. And finally off my list.

---

Quotes edited for conciseness and clarity. You can listen to the full interview in the embedded video above, where Thekla goes into more detail about what kind of music she is listening to, the goals she has left to achieve in wrestling, and places to visit when visiting Austria.