AEW Rewards Women's World Champion Thekla With a New Contract Way Earlier Than Needed

Thekla has found a home in All Elite Wrestling, and she's not going anywhere any time soon.

The AEW Women's World Champion is coming off a successful title defense against Kris Statlander at AEW Revolution earlier this month, continuing a reign that began less than a year into her tenure with the company.

The Toxic Spider burst onto the scene in AEW last summer after her contract with Japan's Stardom promotion expired. She made a major statement by attacking former world champion Jamie Hayter in her debut segment and she's been wowing the folks behind the scenes ever since.

Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp says Thekla's meteoric rise to the top of the card did not happen by accident, and her stellar performances these past few months have resulted in a brand new, multi-year contract extension. And the company did so way earlier than needed.

"We're told that Thekla had originally signed a two-year contract with AEW upon making the jump from Japan," Ross Sapp wrote in his report Wednesday night. "However, AEW was so happy with her performance, they made the move to sign her to a new multi-year deal not even a full year into the original deal."

The exact length of Thekla's new contract is not known at this time.

Thekla trusted her instincts upon her arrival in All Elite Wrestling

The Takedown on SI had the opportunity to chat with The Toxic Spider ahead of AEW Revolution, who, upon her arrival in the company, had a strict mindset of staying true to herself and not getting bogged down by making comparisons to other women in the locker room.

"It's important to remind myself that I've been around. I've played in punk bands. I've went to art school. I got a degree. I've lived in six countries. I speak almost five languages. It's like, I'm good at stuff. I got my own personality going and I can do stuff in the ring that nobody else can do. I just tried to focus on how good I am, because I'm really good."

Post Revolution, Thekla appeared to be in line for a program with the most accomplished women's star in AEW history, "Timeless" Toni Storm. The four-time AEW Women's Champion made it known that she was out to win her title back after she finished her program with Marina Shafir, however, Storm is now expected to miss the remainder of 2026 for an undisclosed reason.

In the meantime, Thekla is defending her AEW Women's World Title against Storm's tag team partner, Mina Shirakawa, Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite.