Willow Nightingale prides herself on being a reliable performer.
She may not be at the forefront of the AEW product right now, but Willow Nightingale continues to push herself. Nightingale recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about her journey to finding confidence throughout her various vantage points on the All Elite Wrestling card.
While her position on the card may waver, Willow Nightingale is keen on maintaining herself as a dependable performer.
“I think the thing that can be difficult is there are so many players being rotated in and out,” Nightingale said. “sometimes you could be on a really hot streak like July, for example, right? I did New Japan, I won the Owen Hart Cup. I had that Athena match, and it just felt like all this momentum was shifting in this really high upward trajectory for me, and that was all very exciting. But like, my face was plastered all over the place for the whole month. And it’s like, okay, this is Willow time, but like, okay, Statlander won the TBS title. We have to get her face in there. We have to get her in the mix.”
Part Of The Team
Willow noted how the AEW Women’s Championship has changed hands twice in that time. Despite more competitors joining the spotlight, she still feels like she’s part of the fold.
“I am definitely one of the, I guess, mainstays at Collision and Ring of Honor. I’m happy to be with the team, part of that. I really like getting to see other women also kind of take the forefront. I was able to take part at All Out in the Zero Hour, and I feel like all the work that I have done since then has been the same thing: consistent, dependable.”
“As my opportunities and accolades increase, of course, that standard increases. So, to answer your question, what consistency looks like should change and grow. Because I can be doing exactly the same thing I was at the beginning of the year, and technically, that’s consistent, but it’s not at this new standard that I set for myself. So yes, I put more pressure on myself. And hopefully, I am knocking it out of the park whenever I get the opportunities.”
AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam
AEW will host Dynamite: Grand Slam on Wednesday from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York. Nightingale, a native of the nearby Long Island area, says she wants to put herself in a position to perform on an event like that. Not only does she want to show out in her hometown, but she will keep pushing herself so more people want her in a top spot more consistently.
“Ultimately, I think where I’m at is I want to be viewed as a legitimate contender for the championship, right? I’ve proven that I can win championships, being the New Japan STRONG inaugural Women’s Champion, winning the Owen Hart Cup tournament this year. I’ve proven myself in the regards that I can pull the trigger on something like this and walk out a winner and represent myself as a star. So now it’s just finding my way into positions like that where the opportunities are there. Hopefully, I could then cash in on them or capitalize,” Nightingale said.
‘I’ve already had a title match this year at Forbidden Door. So, the only thing to do is keep that up and hopefully make that happen. But I want to be a person who people see and are asking, ‘Why isn’t she in the main event picture for the women?’ That is ultimately the question that I ask myself when I say what aren’t I doing? What do I need to do in terms of the growth and not getting stagnant but staying like, consistently dependable? It’s like, how do I go from just being dependable to being that person? So I want people to see me that way. And I want me to see myself that way. Especially for big shows like Grand Slam where it’s like, of course I want to show out in front of my home audience.”
Watch our full interview with Willow Nightingale below:
If you use any of these quotes, please credit WrestleZone with a link to this article for the transcription.
