AEW Redemption Post-Show Media Scrum: Maya World on TBS Title Win, Willow Nightingale on Her Struggles with Depression & Injury That Kept Her Out of Women’s Owen Hart Cup, AEW Podcast Network Plans Update, Kenny Omega’s Value to Pro Wrestling, Future AEW Video Game, & More

AEW held a media scrum following Sunday’s AEW Redemption event at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• During her portion of the media scrum, TBS Champion Maya World gave her thoughts about her praise of Mercedes Mone for elevating her in AEW.
• On the topic of her TBS Championship victory has already hit her, World stated ““You know, almost. I mean, I’m definitely gonna go celebrate after this but, no, it has a little bit. I just keep seeing the graphic and I’m like, ‘That’s insane. I can’t believe that’s me.’ But, I’m just really grateful for everything. AEW is such a great place and I’m just glad that, you know, Tony (Khan), you believed in me so much and now I’m here and I did it and the future is now.”
• On the topic of who she would like to face off against in a match at All In 2026, World stated “I feel like my story with Athena isn’t done. I would love to face Athena. But whoever, whoever. Anybody can step up… But Athena for sure.”
• On the topic of if she has already rewatched her 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup Finals match against Mercedes Mone at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026, World stated “Somebody has to [laughs]. Yeah, many, many times. I tried not to at first, I wanted to stay in the moment. I had a few things happen and I wanted to remember it for what it was, which was a great match and a great feeling after, but I definitely have rewatched it a lot of times.” World’s comments were in reference to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer who had stated that he has still yet to watch the match at home after watching it live at the event due to how different the televised version of the match was in order to give it a proper star rating score.
• On the topic of her partnership with Hyan and her signing with AEW, World stated ““Of course. That’s my —  yes, for sure. I love tag wrestling and I’m so glad that — honestly, I would never imagine that I’d be signed as a tag wrestler but, me and her (Hyan) love it so much. We always are picking each other’s brains. I’m like, ‘Did you watch this?’ We send each other matches to watch, study, and I love tag wrestling so definitely wanna stay with my girl Hyan.”
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW International Champion #1 Contender “Speedball” Mike Bailey gave his thoughts about how his ladder match at Redemption was the first time his mother has ever watched him live since she was at the show.
• On the topic of indies wrestling in Quebec, Bailey gave his thoughts about how the goal for independent wrestlers in Quebec was always about being the best in Quebec. Bailey stated that his goal for his wrestling career was to be the best in the world and Quebec and the wrestlers involved have made him great.
• During Bailey’s portion of the scrum, AEW International Champion Kyle Fletcher showed up to interrupt leading to a verbal back-and-forth confrontation between the two. Fletcher waited impatiently for Bailey to be done so that he could have his turn in the media scrum.
• On the topic of his former tag team partner “The Jet” Kevin Knight’s match against Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship at the event, Bailey stated “All week people were saying, ‘People are going to be excited to see you.’ I really didn’t expect it this much, nearly to the level it was, just as I came out and before I did anything. I really felt that. Even throughout the night, it was wonderful. Even during the main event, I’m still very proud this was the main event on this show. Kevin getting the “Speedball is better” chant, which makes me very happy, but I don’t entirely believe that. I thought it when we were JetSpeed, Kevin is going to known as the greatest pro wrestler in the world. I’m hoping I’ll beat him then and it’ll be us playing catch-up. We were such a great tag team. We were the best tag team in the world for the year we were together, and I mean that. It still means a lot to me to see him in the main event and taking on the best pro wrestler in history.”
• After Bailey got up to leave, both security and AEW CEO Tony Khan stepped in to ensure nothing physical would happen between Bailey and Fletcher. Bailey extended his arm for a handshake but Fletcher refused leading to Bailey leaving.
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW International Champion Kyle Fletcher gave his thoughts about actor Tim Holland being his choice for a match against a celebrity. AEW CEO Tony Khan responded stating that while it is an interesting idea, AEW is about wrestlers facing off against other wrestlers.
• On the topic of his recent tension with Kazuchika Okada, Fletcher stated that here would need to be hard discussions the next time they team together but they are strong enough to get through this.
• During her portion of the media scrum, AEW Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale reflected on a story involving her giving a pep talk to her sister and her saying that she could be a great writer or actress but one day she would be the “top of the wrestles.” Nightingale stated that while she messed up and meant to say wrestling, that word stuck with her throughout the years. Nightingale also stated that she felt she accomplished that goal by winning the AEW Women’s World title.
• On the topic of her becoming the first ever Women’s Grand Slam Champion in AEW history, Nightingale stated “I mean, fascinating thing about this too is that has all been accomplished within this year. I won the TBS Title two years ago for the first time, but, I held the Tag and TBS earlier this year. Now this, the World Title, it’s really a whirlwind. I love AEW because, now, it feels like we’ve got our legs, we’re more established. But it still feels so exciting and new and this is the beginning of something so much more. In my head, I’m like, this is gonna go on and on and this is still, like, we’re just getting started, and to be somebody who is kind of helping lay down that foundation, and hitting these marks and achievements at such a crazy, awesome time, along with people… on the men’s side, Kenny (Omega) and Hangman (Adam Page)? That is crazy company to be in. So I’m beside myself… Surreal… in the best way possible.”
• On the topic of her struggles with depression, Nightingale stated “I will say that it wasn’t like a diagnosis. It was very much me just being in a place. People have thoughts about self-diagnosis. I have people that I speak to. We have mental health help here. That is one great thing about AEW. We do have a therapist who travels with us and is there whenever anybody needs it. I went in to record that stuff for Countdown that day, and I was going through it and having a really hard time being Willow and thinking about wrestling. if we really think about it, the past year has been so crazy in a world-sense. Who isn’t struggling right now? They were like, ‘What are your thoughts on this?’ ‘Man, really, I don’t know. Why do I deserve to be a champion? I don’t know. This is how I feel. This is what I’ve been going through. This is All Elite Wrestling. Everybody is the best. We all deserve it. At the end of the day, this is how I’ve been feeling, and I’ve still been showing up. When the opportunities are there, it doesn’t matter how I feel; I’ve been delivering.’ Speaking of mental health, it’s very important, especially being the happy and smiling girl, to be honest and say, ‘That’s unrealistic to have that 24/7.’ Nobody is that all the time. It is good to strive for a little positivity to try and allow ourselves some grace when things are tough and say, ‘We all mess up, we all don’t feel great, but what is something that can bring even an iota of joy?’ Wrestling is that for me. Being able to do it, watch it, absorb it, live it. That really is Willow.”
• On the topic of her knee injury that caused her to relinquish the TBS Championship and be pulled out of the 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup tournament, Nightingale stated “For transparency’s sake, I had an AC sprain, which is something that I have experienced in my other shoulder a few times, and it wasn’t as bad. So, in my head, I think that’s also why I was like, ‘I’ll be good for Double or Nothing!’ But an AC sprain, an AC injury is also something — I mean, I don’t know if what I’m gonna say is gonna violate HIPAA or anything. One of my good friends who works here had an AC injury and they had to get surgery and were out for like months and months and months. So, it is, depending on the grade or the severity of it, something that could be, ‘Alright, you’re out for a few weeks’ or, ‘You’re out for almost a whole year,’ and ultimately, even if I get to a place where I’m like, I’m feeling better as a human being, cleaning my house, or driving, because I had to drive home after I hurt it. That was terrible. I was like, ‘Um, I’m convinced I can drive back from Maryland to New York’ which is like a five-hour drive. I’m like, ‘I can do that.’ I got like 30 minutes in and I was like, ‘I have to get a hotel right now. This is impossible.’ So, it was really just kind of like, how do we get to wrestling? How do we rehab this and make sure we’re good for this? And we were really fortunate where it wasn’t the level of my friend who needed surgery. But it was kind of one of those, like, we’ll play it by ear and see how it goes but, there’s no way you’re gonna be able to do the Owen (Hart Cup). For me, I was like, ‘If I’m TBS Champ, I wanna be defending this whenever an opportunity comes up, whenever there’s a challenger.’ I was like, ‘If I can’t do that, I shouldn’t be champion.’ But, things went well fortunately, and so, I was like, if the opportunity’s there, get me back in. I want it. I want to be there, and I missed the Owen, so this is my chance to get to All In and… here we are. Here we are, almost. I was like, we’re a month away. August 30th…”
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about the recent visa issues that affected Komander, The Beast Mortos, El Clon, and Mark Davis’ avalibility for AEW shows and how all have managed to come back. Khan also stated that while there is still a “few obstacles,” it’s not as bad as it was before.
• On the topic of what advice he would tell his 2019 self, Khan stated that there were things that he wished were different such as the deaths of both Brodie Lee and Jay Briscoe. Khan stated that he learned a lot from both of them and still feels the best show AEW has ever done was the tribute show to Lee. Khan also praised Briscoe for helping make him a better person after learning from him during their brief time together in the company. He said he’s also a better person from learning from Briscoe.
• On the topic of All In 2026, Khan stated that there will be interactive experiences for All In and more to come for future major AEW events.
• On the topic of the current plans for a new AEW podcast network in the future, Khan stated “We’ve been working on it. We’re still planning the AEW podcast network with our friends. That is coming. That’s been in the works for quite a while, and it’s still in the works. It’s going to be very good. I’m looking forward to the AEW podcast network as we’ve been planning for a while. It’s going to be excellent.“
• On the topic of future Fairway to Hell shows, Khan stated that he is looking for potential locations for future shows and is interested in holding one somewhere in Quebec. Khan also stated that he has plans to hold charity Fairway to Heaven golf games. Khan stated that he has been playing golf more this year than in previous years.
• On the topic of Mistico’s current injury situation, Khan stated that he had originally scheduled Mistico for Redemption but had to pull him after he got hurt in CMLL. Khan stated that he is currently hopeful Mistico will be healed up and available in time for Grand Slam Mexico 2026.
• On the topic of Kenny Omega’s value to wrestling, Khan praised Omega and stated that there would be no AEW without Omega. Khan also talked about how when he was writing episodes of Dynamite well before there was a Dynamite and never stopped, Omega was part of those shows that he wrote.
• On the topic of a potential sequel to the AEW Fight Forever video game, Khan stated that it is a good idea and something that he has been interested in doing for some time.

Full AEW Redemption post-show media scrum video:

Source: F4WOnline.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8