Imagine debuting in WWE with a name so quirky, it would have made wrestling history! That's exactly what Kris Statlander, the "Galaxy's Greatest Alien," recently revealed about her original WWE debut plans.
In a candid chat with Chris Van Vliet, Statlander, who has since become a former AEW Women's Champion, delved into some fascinating behind-the-scenes details. While she touched upon her memorable AEW moments, like her victory over Jade Cargill for the TBS title and her intense match against Willow Nightingale at All Out, a particularly amusing tidbit emerged about her very first WWE appearance back in 2019.
But here's where it gets truly bizarre... Statlander disclosed that her planned tag team, which appeared on SmackDown on April 9, 2019, against The IIconics for the Women's Tag Team Titles, was initially slated for a name that was, shall we say, deliciously unique: the Brooklyn Pizza Connection. And the individual names? Saucy and Cheesy!
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This enhancement team, where Statlander herself was billed as Kristen, was set to embrace a culinary theme. "Well, originally the team name was supposed to be the Brooklyn Pizza Connection, and we were supposed to be named Saucy and Cheesy," Statlander explained. While the duo never officially adopted these monikers, the idea was certainly on the table.
And this is the part most people miss... Statlander expressed a playful regret that these plans never fully materialized. "I don’t know, we never got that far, but those were the options. Then it was the Brooklyn Belles, and then just used our first names," she recalled. "But I was like, that would have been iconic to have been either saucy or cheesy, and my only match there was a tag title match. So what a way to go, to go in and go out right away." She even quipped about potentially revisiting such names in AEW, joking about being "Saucy or Cheesy or Garlic or Oregano, something like that."
For those unfamiliar, Statlander's WWE debut was a brief appearance where she, as Kristen, teamed with Karissa Rivera (billed as Bella) as the Brooklyn Belles. The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) ultimately retained their titles in that match.
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Following her WWE stint, Statlander made her grand entrance into AEW a few months later, in November, joining forces with Big Swole. Her official contract signing with AEW occurred a month after that, and she's been a prominent fixture in the promotion ever since, carving out her own unique path.
Now, here's the question for you wrestling fans: Would a team named the "Brooklyn Pizza Connection" with members "Saucy" and "Cheesy" have been a stroke of genius or a recipe for disaster in WWE? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below – do you agree that it would have been iconic, or is it a bullet dodged for Statlander's career?
