Willow Nightingale Explains The Significance Of Being In Anarchy In The Arena At AEW Double Or Nothing (Exclusive)

"I have had so much happen in the past few years that I would have never imagined I would find myself in these situations. But I have, over the past few months, you know, first I came to the aid of my friend Orange Cassidy, who I've known for years. As much as Jon Moxley terrifies me and scares me, I really kind of first started getting all wrapped up in that because of OC," she said. "And then you see someone like Adam Copeland, who I have been watching since I was a child, and, you know, I got to tag with him, before the Death Rider stuff was happening. And that was wild."

"Then he was like, 'Hey, they've got a crazy chick on their team. I need a crazy chick on my team, too. And so I helped him as a friend, which is insane. Crazy. And now Swerve, Samoa Joe, Kenny Omega. It is wild for me to take a step back, and I thought 10 years ago, these are the people who I am not only professionally working with, but I'm standing hand in hand with and like fighting for this company and kicking butt together," Nightingale said.

The former TBS Champion recognizes this is a major opportunity for her and Marina Shafir to put eyes on the AEW women's division with their inclusion among the top names in the company. To date, no women have been involved in a major mixed-tag match on AEW pay-per-view with the top male acts in the company.

That changes Sunday.

"Even if you look at the opposition, that's a stacked team. That's crazy. But at this point, I'm just like, that's reality. That's my job. I'm going to do it. I'm not afraid. And while I may have doubted myself in the past, I don't doubt myself anymore," she said. "Every opportunity that is put in front of me, I just think about, what's the best way I can make the most of this?"

"If Marina and I are thrown into the main event scene, guess what we're going to do right by the women. And again, I respect her. I respect her because I know what she's been through, but I'm going to take her down."

This will also be the first time women have been included in the Anarchy In The Arena match stipulation, a bout known to get physical, bloody, and chaotic. That's not something Nightingale is shying away from, and she believes her and Shafir's inclusion is an important step in the right direction for women's wrestling at this stage.

"Well, obviously Anarchy In The Arena is a big attraction for people, but it also is something that is the heart of something that we've done time and time again," she told The Takedown on SI. "And when you look at giant stables, when you look at factions and groups of people, we always talk about brotherhood, and even the old school greeting to one another is like, 'brother, brother, brother.'"

"I think we can have a sense of fraternity, and like, rooting and cheering for one another without having to be a boys club in 2025," Nightingale said.

Shafir is also a central figure to the story. Once expected to be a major prospect in the WWE developmental system, her time came and passed without any significant inclusions in the company's storytelling. A jump to AEW saw several attempts at repackaging her, but her inclusion in the Death Riders has put the most amount of eyes on her as a performer to date.

The 31-year-old Nightingale doesn't take the former MMA star lightly.

"Mox is a smart man. You know the reason he has Marina Shafir guarding the championship is because she's tough as hell. At the end of the day, she is a badass woman, and so, that is so much more than about brotherhood in a very gender specific way," she said.

She ultimately believes the women being a part of this major match can help change the status quo within not just AEW, but also help make a statement about the standing women have in wrestling today.

"I think, yeah, we've all been butt-kickers, but the story of brotherhood just being 'for the boys and boys being boys' can go deeper," she said. "Because obviously, AEW's known for letting us girls go crazy and have our tag team street fight matches. The one that I had with Kris Statlander. But obviously, to be brought into another level to think like, 'Oh well, they think they're tough as the boys,' like, no, we're going to hang with the boys.

"It's called anarchy, and we're bringing it."

Nightingale previously confirmed to The Takedown on SI that she had re-signed with AEW on a multi-year deal.