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AEW has been criticized for having a weak women's roster, which is why it makes sense that they would want to bolster it in the months to come. Kris Statlander recently made her debut on AEW Dynamite when she teamed up with Hikaru Shida in a losing effort to Bea Priestley and Emi Sakura.
According to 411 Mania, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that WWE was negotiating with Statlander and that a deal was close at hand. WWE was under the impression that she would be starting up with them in January. But in an interesting turn of events, Statlander was booked by AEW, and the WWE contract was not sent to her.
It looks like she will be staying in AEW as they want her to be a part of their growing women's division. The company has been criticized for not pushing the women's division enough, while some feel that the matches have been poorly produced. Statlander would have been an added bonus to the division.
In an interview with WON, Kenny Omega spoke on the percieved problems in the women's division and stated that there would be changes in 2020. He said:
"We haven’t been able to focus on women as much as I’d like. Some of it has been availability. We have girls signed and hopping on board. I hate to say ‘wait til 2020,’ but I can safely say in 2020 there are going to be interesting and exciting signings that will shake up the division. As soon as we have a women’s tag division, that will balance (things) more and give the women more of a stage. Once there’s that ‘thing’ for them to fight for, you’re going to see more time devoted per episode for the women.”
From the sound of it, it looks like that's happening. While Cody Rhodes has been at the forefront of possible issues with the WWE, with regards to WCW trademarks, both companies are battling over good talent in the industry.
