TEXT BY CANDACE CORDELIA
PHOTOS BY ISSA MARIE
AT THE TIME OF my interview with the larger-than-life Austrian pro wrestler Thekla, for PWI’s May 2025 issue, she expressed her excitement about the possibilities of taking her athletic, artistic, and stylistic talents to America. And as much as she dreams of starting her own fashion line and taking wrestling fashion “to the next level” (“I have some pretty crazy stuff coming up … like, big gears”), she has some even more pressing concerns. One of these is the opportunity for STARDOM’s “Idol Killer” to face some dominant women wrestlers who’ve had a head start on becoming American idols in today’s wrestling industry.
Take, for example, Mercedes Mone. Mone currently holds three titles: the AEW TBS championship, NJPW STRONG Women’s championship, and RevPro Undisputed British Women’s championship (which was unified with the Southside Women’s title). In Thekla’s forthright opinion, all three titles (and four physical belts) are simply too many for one woman to possess.
“I saw her at the Tokyo Dome. She had a bit of a thing with Mina Shirakawa. Now, she’s got four belts. I think that’s a little much,” begins Thekla. “Seeing her walking around with four belts? I’m a little concerned for her well being. It looks a little heavy. I think somebody outta help her out with carrying those, if you know what I mean. I’d love to step in the ring with her for sure.”
Along with Mone, Thekla would also love to reunite with former AEW Women’s World champion Mariah May, yet in a way the one-time Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner might not appreciate very much. “Mariah May and I used to be in Stardom together,” says Thekla. “I think she really needs a good kick in the face again, to be honest. She’s somebody who’s got it coming.”
Thekla also has designs on staring down two of WWE’s most popular wrestling superstars in the squared circle—Iyo Sky and Giulia. She recalls, “I ran into Iyo Sky the other day. She’s cool. Seeing her reminded me of the fact that I got trained by Mio Shirai (Iyo Sky’s sister). I was like, Damn! That could be something cool if I ever got to test her skills.”
As for her former Donna Del Mondo team member, Giulia, Thekla adds, “Obviously, number one is always, the one person [I] always get tagged with, Giulia. Great look. Great girl. I would love to run it back with her sometime.”
According to Thekla, “anything can happen these days.” And, with plans to descend into Las Vegas during WrestleMania Week, she’s looking toward a future filled with generational matches involving Mercedes, Mariah, Iyo, Giulia, and more … with no regrets concerning the past.
“I’ve been on a roll lately,” Thekla proclaims. “I got suspended like two or three times. I stopped counting. This has been happening, but I’m still proud of myself ’cause I just do what I have to do. I think it’s always a little bit of a grey area, a difficult situation, when I get suspended. I can be a little bit of a hot head. I do agree. But … I didn’t see myself being 100 percent in the wrong, ever. On the other hand, I can tell that lately I’ve been getting booked a little less by STARDOM. Especially now that I’ve dropped the belt together with Momo (Watanabe). But, to me, that’s fine because I’ve got my sights on the States anyway. I’ve been slapping girls around in Japan for the last five years. I’m really ready to raise some hell in the States right now.
“I think there’s so much more to do.”
