AEW Star Willow Nightingale Makes History at CMLL x NJPW Fantastica Mania

Willow Nightingale won the vacant CMLL World Women's Championship on Saturday.

By Haley Miller

Last weekend Stephanie Vaquer competed in her final CMLL match and ended up vacating the women's championship less than 24 hours later. Fans were blindsided by the move as she had just begun to get some momentum behind her but she chose to ride that momentum into signing with her dream wrestling promotion. After competing at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door where she faced Mercedes Moné, her performance got the attention of WWE and they quickly made moves to bring her onto the roster. Due to the titles now being vacant, it opened an opportunity for a new champion to be crowned. At CMLL x NJPW Fantastica Mania, Willow Nightingale, Viva Van and Lluvia competed in the match which Nightingale walked out of as champion after pinning Van.

This is now the second time Nightingale has swooped in to be a reliable hand for a professional wrestling company when something goes wrong. In 2023 when Mercedes Moné was injured in their title match, she swooped in and carried the title as the inaugural champion to New Japan Pro Wrestling's next big show to drop it to Giulia. Now she looks to strengthen the relationship between AEW and CMLL by cementing her name in history as the first American to win the championship.

Since signing with AEW, Nightingale has obtained incredible accolades, like being the first woman to main event an ROH and NJPW show as well as an AEW pay-per-view. She won last year's Owen Hart Cup Tournament and became a TBS Champion. This wasn't her first time competing in CMLL as she has appeared a handful of times previously, including in a tag team match against Vaquer, Lluvia and Zeuxis earlier this year. 

AEW announced their partnership with CMLL in 2023 and it has proven to be fruitful, particularly over the last few months. The Blackpool Combat Club, Kyle Fletcher, Thunder Rosa and more have all competed at various shows and Khan has spoken highly of the company and their ongoing relationship.

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Nightingale is currently tied up in a storyline with her best friend turned foe Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway who turned on her in May. During the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament this year, Statlander interjected, allowing Mariah May to pick up the victory and head to AEW All In to face Toni Storm for the Women's World Championship. 

Stay tuned to Comicbook for updates on AEW.

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