This Saturday at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Thekla gets her first AEW title shot at All Out against three heavy hitters: Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, and reigning champion “Timeless” Toni Storm. Since signing with the promotion in May, Thekla has quickly risen through the ranks of the women’s division, winning fans over with her, as she calls it, “crazy b***h” character.Most people who know of the “Toxic Spider” learned of her through her time in Japan with Ice Ribbon and STARDOM. She is a former Artist of Stardom Champion and Goddesses of Stardom Champion, so it’s not new territory. What many may be surprised to learn, though, is how short she’s been in the game. With less than a decade in the wrestling business, she’s already made a name for herself globally.“I feel like my style is very unorthodox, and it’s a mix of everything. I did a lot of underground s**t back in Europe; very technical stuff. And then in Japan, I just put the cherry on top. It’s not too hard [the transition from Japan to the U.S.]. It feels very natural in America. I feel like in AEW I can take all of these things that I’ve learned and create something that people haven’t seen yet. So, I think it’s working very well if you ask me.”During her time in Japan, she challenged herself in ways she hadn’t before. Adapting from wrestling in underground, dark, sweaty, Punk venues to the quieter hum of Korakuen Hall is one Thekla took on proudly. Whereas some will spin their wheels in an environment they feel most comfortable, Thekla thrives in the chaos. “That’s one of the hardest things I was doing. I was doing very well in Japan, I was very happy in Japan. After being there for a couple of years, I finally understood how everything works. And then making that jump to the States was not the easiest thing because I was just very content. I feel a lot of people get lazy with where they’re at, but I’m just always hungry to see what’s on the other side. I’m just [a] very curious person. And when there’s a moment where I can feel it’s time to move on, you just gotta be like, ‘okay, f**k it. It’s time, let’s go.’ Even though you’re not feeling it a hundred percent ’cause you like the s**t you’re surrounded with—the comfort.”Since signing with AEW, her ascension has been immediate. She’s found a connection with the fans in such a short amount of time, taking elements of her early days wrestling in Vienna, Austria, where fans don’t hold back. ”I think a lot of people jump into this without having any experience with heavy contact with fans. I grew up in a scene where I was body slamming b***hes, right? Like, almost hitting children ’cause there was so little space; people screaming atrocities in my face. We did a show in, I think it was in Philly, I was stomping the s**t out of Toni. And it was this girl, this woman was standing right in front of me, right? And she was looking down at Toni. She was like, screaming at me, ‘Stop it! Whatcha doing to our champion? Stop!’ And I just look up and I shout at her, ‘Shut up!’And then she touches my face with both hands and grabs my face, super close to me, I threw her arms away. It’s like, ‘The f**k you doing?’ Then security came and she was like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ but she got really into it. People who haven’t experienced close contact with fans beforehand might be freaked out after something like that. And it’s like, I mean, I don’t really care. You have to go with the flow. It’s fun, that is where the fun’s at, but it’s not for everybody.”Thekla’s presentation is also one of the coolest in all of wrestling—from her high-energy theme music done in-house by the musical brains behind AEW, Mikey Rukus, down to the camera effects in her entrance. In recent weeks, AEW has been leaning into the “Spider” aspect of her character, flipping the camera upside down during her entrance.“Somebody in creative or in production, one of the ladies there, I think it was her idea, and she pitched it. ‘What if we do that upside-down camera?’ When I saw it, I was like, ‘That is gold.’ We gotta expand on that one. I think that’s a beautiful touch; I could not be happier, and I’m a picky b***h. I will send things back that I don’t think are perfect. The music is such a banger. Every time I hear it, it gets me pumped. It’s really important to me.And now with Madness, it’s the same thing. It’s just the three of us creating some real visual magic. I think it’s a little different from what Julia was doing, from what Skye’s doing by herself. From what I do. Very different energies coming together, but I think we’re really making it happen.”L-R: Julia Hart, Thekla, Skye Blue A.K.A. Triangle of madness in aewThe Madness Thekla speaks of is her faction, comprised of Julia Hart, Skye Blue, and herself. She comes off as the “missing piece” that Hart and Blue were looking for. Although Blue is only 25, she’s achieved so much in her wrestling career from longevity. Hart is a homegrown AEW star who went from cheerleading on AEW Dark to commanding entire arenas with her presence alone. As for Thekla, she brings that strong-style, energetic background—the muscle behind Madness. ”I think they already had something, the two of them together, but adding me to the mix just makes it a whole different thing. Together, we’re a real threat, and we’re really clicking. I’m very excited to see where we’re gonna go because I think Madness has huge potential to be a big thing, and to actually mix some s**t up. I think for now we’re the triangle, which I think is cool. There’s still something to maybe changing up the shapes, if you know what I mean.”As for being in the four-way title match this weekend? Thekla is just going with the flow. “I have confidence. When you let go and you still keep on working and being positive and showing up and showing out, that’s when opportunity comes knocking like a motherf**ker. I try to not get too excited about it either. I’m very excited about having that match, but I try not to think about, “Oh, I’m in the main event picture now, I made it!I’m very excitable. I’ve been in places where I started to believe that wrestling is real. Almost like a method actor that just f**king loses herself in her role. That’s happened to me before in Japan, and it was very scary. So I just try to protect myself from reading comments online or people raving. I’m just me, I’m just a crazy girl from Austria who ended up here now. I’m just trying to have fun and bring that gold home.”AEW All Out airs at 1:45 p.m. ET and will stream in the United States on HBO Max, Prime Video, YouTube, and Fubo, as well as TrillerTV internationally. For a full list of ways to watch the pay-per-view, head to AEW’s website.The post Stepping Inside AEW Star Thekla’s Web [Exclusive] appeared first on VICE.