Willow Nightingale may be getting ready to walk right back into a women’s division that has been moving on without her.
According to Fightful Select, the current plan is for Willow to return to AEW in July after being sidelined with a right shoulder injury. That is a pretty big update, because Willow’s injury did not just take her off TV — it forced her to relinquish the AEW TBS Championship and pull out of the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
“The current plan is for Willow Nightingale to come back in July. We’re told there have always been big plans for her this year”
That last part matters. Willow was in the middle of a 140-day TBS Championship reign when everything stopped, and AEW had major plans for her before the injury changed the board. The company already had to adjust the Owen Hart Tournament after Willow went down, and it already moved forward with a plan to crown a new TBS Champion.
During the May 30 episode of AEW Collision, Tony Schiavone announced that six women would compete in qualifying matches over the next month, with the winners advancing to a Survival of the Fittest Match on the July 1 episode of Dynamite. The winner of that match will become the new AEW TBS Champion, meaning Willow’s old title could have a new owner right around the time she is expected back.
Bottom line: Willow Nightingale’s comeback could give AEW a major boost at the perfect time. After being forced to give up her title, she now has a ready-made story waiting for her when she returns.
What do you want to see Willow Nightingale do when she returns to AEW? Should she go straight after the new TBS Champion? Let us know in the comments below.
