AEW’s Willow Nightingale became a champion for the first time in the company at AEW Dynasty, defeating Julia Hart to capture the TBS Championship. The victory is the culmination of a long road for Nightingale, who seemingly imprinted on AEW fans instantly. Former AEW talent, who is currently back working with IMPACT on a freelance basis, Matt Hardy, spoke about Nightingale and her charm on an episode of “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.” Hardy praised the 30 year old and said she reminds him of a legend in WWE.

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“She reminds me, and this is by no means a physical comparison, she reminds me of Dusty Rhodes in some ways,” Hardy said. “She’s very likable. She’s very charismatic and whenever she goes out there and does things, it’s just also very believable in whatever it may be. There’s just something about her that makes you want to cheer for her. That is what I think of when I think about Willow. When you see her, she’s a very friendly person. She just really radiates through the screen and you’re like, ‘Wow. I like this individual and I want to cheer for them. I want them to do good. I want to see them win.'”

Nightingale wasted no time getting into her first feud as champion, with Mercedes Mone set to make her highly anticipated AEW in-ring debut against Nightingale at Double Or Nothing in Las Vegas in May. The two have history, as Mone was injured during her New Japan Pro-Wrestling match against Nightingale for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship in May 2023. The match announcement was made just days after she captured the title. Mone crashed Nightingale’s in-ring celebration on “AEW Dynamite” with manager Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander, which ended in Mone eating a slap from the latter.

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Please credit “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.