It has been, in my opinion, much too long since we here at the Gutter inducted anyone into the illustrious pantheon of Gentlemen and Ladies of Asskickery. This has not been for a lack of candidates and in fact there were a number of worthy inductees to choose from, even when we decided that the next entry would be a woman, but narrowing it down proved difficult at first since there are several women out there – onscreen and off – kicking ass in a variety of different settings and contexts. But in the last few weeks and this week in particular, the choice became abundantly clear.

One of my favourite things as an appreciator and sometimes-critic of art is getting on board early with an artist. Watching them fight from an ‘underground’ performance or personality and finally breaking through to a place where they’re well-known and part of the broader cultural conversation. This might be watching a band play a small club to an audience of tens to playing a stadium only a few months or years later. It might be seeing a filmmaker debut their first feature at a festival and their third or fourth playing to massive crowds and critical acclaim. This is equally true for wrestlers and the unique thrill that comes from watching them put on just as compelling a performance in a half-full, repurposed go-kart place as they do in a packed-out arena in front of thousands in attendance and millions watching at home. There’s a wrestler in AEW who I’ve been watching since their days on the independent circuit, all the way to “dark” (unaired, preliminary) matches in AEW proper, to finally becoming a champion and an important part of the show and their division in the last year or so. As I type this, I realize that this can apply to several stars on the AEW roster and is one of the reasons why that promotion has captured my interest and imagination but there’s one in particular, and that’s (as of this writing) AEW Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale. 

Starting off her still-thriving career on the independent wrestling scene of the Northeastern US with the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) promotion out of Deer Park, New York, Willow began forging both friends and rivalries early on. In particular, her entanglement with on-again-off-again ally Kris Statlander has followed her from small arenas to large ones and honed both of their skills like a pair of whetstones continually clashing into one another. Both using power-based wrestling styles with Statlander’s proclivity towards big slams and Willow’s inclination towards bodychecks and flinging her body into her hapless opponents, they make for a compelling clash when they’re on opposing sides of a match.

And there’s few things that can more reliably connect me to a wrestler, especially in AEW, than their ability to develop and wield their friendships. Willow’s alignment with the most friendly friendship faction of all, The Conglomeration, consisting of Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Hologram, Tomohiro Ishii, and Mark Briscoe. This ragtag group of misfits have little in common, character-wise (and one is a literal masked hologram), but are allied in their common commitment to their friendship and dedication to one another.

Willow, in her five-ish year career with AEW, has not only ingratiated herself to fans like me and her allies on the roster, but has also been a trailblazer in the company. Recently winning her first world championship and the accolade of the first Grand Slam winner of all of the available titles (World, TNT, and Tag Team) in AEW, Willow has carved her own path through the division while maintaining an outwardly positive attitude. She’s layered, though, and has experienced a bunch of deeply-affecting setbacks that she’s heroically fought through and overcome. One of my favourite things about Willow is her ability to acknowledge when she’s been knocked down and bravely fight her way back up the incredibly competitive ranks of AEW’s women’s divisions. 

“The Babe With The Power,” emblazoned with a thigh tattoo of David Bowie, has an infectious energy and appetite for destruction. As sunshiney and positive as her theme music is, and as many dance moves as she can fit into her entrance, Willow becomes ultra-serious in the ring:

“The reason that I am that way is because I understand all of the terrible things that are out there in the world, and I don’t have control over all of that. All I can do is be a girl who goes out to the ring and does what I love and gets to smile about it.”

“But at the core of human nature is aggression. It’s physicality. It’s that visceral need to let the steam off.”

“When I’m given the chance to say, ‘Hey, we’re loosening up the rules, you could use a little weapon. You can go a little crazy outside of the ring.’ I’m gonna jump on it and de-stress and show everyone that just because I have a smile on my face does not mean you can mess with me.”

Defined by her catchphrase that’s more a philosophy than an easily-chanted wrestling slogan, “Nothing Matters, Smile Anyway,” Willow is best encapsulated in her infectious grin and her steadfast earnestness.  She connects with us because in a world of illusion and performance, she feels genuine. Organically rising through AEW and past the stiff competition on that roster, Willow has inspired a generation of wrestlers and made fans all over the world. It turns out that “woman who kicks gargantuan amounts of ass while barely breaking her smile” is a pretty solid gimmick for a wrestler, and Willow has proven that several times over. Her tag team with the multi-talented Harley Cameron became the very first tag team champions in the company.

And just this week, seeing Willow win the world championship was one of the most validating things that a wrestling show can produce for its fans. Every shot of her, ever grateful to the cheering crowds that stand behind her, made me think of seeing her in those dark matches at the shows I’ve attended, not even making it to TV but still out there smiling and bodychecking her way through her competition.

I think it’s the balance between Willow’s positive attitude and her ability (and inclination) to mercilessly rain down destruction on her opponents when the circumstances call for it that have made me a lifelong fan of hers, and which puts an embarrassingly-large grin on my face whenever she shows up on my TV.  Every bit the fighter that Yayan Ruhian, Tony Jaa, and The Beast Mortos is, Willow is the warrior princess for the rest of us and the perfect candidate for a new addition to the Gentlewomen of Asskickery.