Thekla has revealed that before joining AEW, she had her sights on being the first female member of one of the promotion’s biggest factions.
Shortly after joining AEW in 2025, Thekla joined forces with Skye Blue and Julia Hart to form the Tirangle of Madness. The group has become popular with fans and has been a success in the ring, with Thekla becoming the AEW Women’s World Champion with Blue and Hart by her side.
Prior to signing with the company, though, the Toxic Spider had other ideas. During an appearance on TMZ Sports’ Inside the Ring, she said she had hoped to become the first female member of the Don Callis Family.
“Honestly, before I came to AEW, I would see Don Callis and I’d be like, ‘Man, I kind of want to be the first female in the Don Callis Family.’ That could be cool.”
Thekla went on to explain that Callis had been an inspiration for her when she wrestled in STARDOM in Japan. She even stole a line from one of his promos, although she had never told him so.
“Well, that was one of the places I could see myself. I feel like he actually inspired me also to be… when I was in Japan and I was doing all the idol killer stuff and going after girls I didn’t like. I heard him say in one of the promos, he said something like, ‘Feel the hate,’ and I was like, ‘Oh! That’s perfect. I’m stealing it.’ I never told him actually so, I might get some smack backstage for actually saying that so, f**k it.”
Thekla Wants To Be Bigger Than Arnold Schwarzenegger
During the same interview, Thekla claimed she wants to become the top star in Austria, even bigger than the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thekla made the comments after noting that both she and Gunther came from the same area of Austria, and praised the WWE star for his “outstanding” wrestling style.
