Willow Nightingale

[8.0] "When I saw her on the indies, I'll admit I didn't expect to see her reach the level she did. That said, she's easily established herself up there with the upper echelon of AEW's women's division. Here's hoping she has many more injury-free years ahead of her in the future."

[10.0] "We spend a lot of time very rightfully criticizing AEW for how much it chews up wrestlers and spits them out. How a wrestler will be on TV for weeks with no real direction, wrestling on other shows way less people watch, and having their accomplishments pale in comparison to the illustrious AEW squash spot where the bigger star pins you, even if you're a champion. Willow is the perfect example of what this system can produce. A warm smile, a hunger for any challenge, and a genuine feeling of triumph if you took the time to watch all of it. No matter what show you watched her on, no matter whether she won or lost, you genuinely did watch that smile always perk back up. Even if you only catch her on AEW television, that grit and confidence could have only come from the grind, knowing defeat and uncertainty, and continuing despite it all. Willow is one of the best working and will become one of the best to ever do it."

[10.0] "one of the best theme songs in wrestling, first and foremost. secondly, she is absolutely a credible contender and her main event fights are always, always worth sticking around for. She has earned her place near the top of the card, has an insane presence and connection to her fans, and remains one of the most endesring characters on a week-to-week basis. With her being crowned as World Champion, I believe she has earned the credibility to be given a 10."

[9.0] "Willow's last 100 singles matches average a 6.7/10, which seems low to me. She's very versatile, very credible, very charming, and very much part of the best story in the women's division in a little while. Can't wait for more from her, especially a longer World title reign."

[10.0] "Admittedly I'm totally biased here but i remember being drawn to her as fan ever since her team up with Ruby SoHo against Tay Melo and Ana Jay. She's just so easy to root for. She's a beast in the ring too. Genuinely one of the like 10 (at most) wrestlers that I actively want to keep up with and watch every promo/match of. There's just something she has that reminds me of the comfort John cena brought me as a kid. And trust me I was a huge John cena fan from 2006-2014 (I stopped watching wrestling for a while in 2014)"

[10.0] "Probably the most complete and radiant babyface in the entirety of wrestling right now. Everything about her screams genuine. I don't think there's a single character in wrestling that balances positivity and optimism with true vulnerabilities and depth better than Willow."

[10.0] "The quintessential babyface in the entire industry. So charming, so authentic, and is one of the better women wrestlers in the entire world. I update this review after what happened last night, she will be back, and if Tony was a smart man Mercedes vs Willow would main event all in next year . She is 1 of 1"

[9.0] "9.5 - The best pure babyface working today. An irresistible charisma and unmistakable talent. Perfectly at home in a Saturday morning match for the elementary school kids or a Saturday night death match for the sickos. Authentic and tough and vulnerable and resilient and one of the absolute best of her generation. And she is just getting started. I would bet a large amount of money that in the next 3-5 years when up and coming wrestlers are breaking through and are asked who their heroes or inspirations were Willow will get more votes than anyone else. Her work with Mone is otherworldly. Her ongoing, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, story with Statlander is one of the best simmering stories in all of wrestling. If you were starting a wrestling company tomorrow and could pick one wrestler to build your brand behind would you pick anyone other than Willow?"

"WILLOW NIGHTINGALE MAKES WRESTLING FEEL FUN WITHOUT MAKING IT FEEL FAKE! That is such a hard balance and she gets it better than almost anybody! The smile works because it does not disappear the second the match becomes difficult. It changes. Sometimes it becomes determination, sometimes frustration, and sometimes that look where you KNOW she is about to launch somebody into another postal code. Her power spots are awesome because the energy around them feels generous instead of arrogant. She wants the whole building to experience the moment with her. I also love that she can look vulnerable without suddenly seeming weak. When she gets knocked down, the comeback matters because the optimism has actually been tested. Maybe a few stretches get too bouncy and could use more tension, sure, but I would rather watch somebody give TOO MUCH life than act bored while doing perfect moves. Willow makes every victory feel like the crowd helped lift it into existence. MORE OF THIS PLEASE!"

[10.0] "Willow Nightingale has proven over the past few years of in-ring work that she belongs at the top of the AEW Womens division. She's capable of a good to great match with anyone, is a proven reliable hard working champion, and has a genuine connection with the fanbase. Willow is the real deal, and she's continuing to improve week by week, match by match."

[7.0] "She's solid in the ring and can have good matches, especially when she gets to work a more physical style. I don't think she's reached that next level yet, but there's definitely something there and I can see her continuing to improve."

[5.0] "She has her moments in the ring, and she's a face that people want to cheer for... but she's never had a match like 'Jamie Hayter vs Hikaru Shida' that made me go WOW... she's a game changer! Willow's mic skills need a lot of work. She does that squeaky thing that Deonna always does; and her words come out very unnatural. Typically, I love her finisher being the Gutwrench Powerbomb when she nails it perfectly, but sometimes she has problems hoisting up other girls and could use more upper body strength."

[8.0] "Lovable character, natural Babyface, good but not great in the ring. She's not a ring general like Statlander or Danielson that's gonna get a good match out of just about anyone, but she's reliable to have a solid match with most. Her promo work has improved greatly over the past year."

[10.0] "Willow has this presents where when she shows up, everything is just better. She's probably one of the most genuine babyfaces I've seen in AEW. She's a really good wrestler and pretty solid on the mic. Her entrance is also very fun to watch. I love Willow so much"

[9.0] "The best female powerhouse wrestler we've seen in the United States (except Rhea Ripley) since Awesome Kong. Willow is, with all due respect, an absolute brick shithouse. She's got that Sheamus mentality where she's going to hit you as stiff as she fucking can every time, and she expects you to as well. It obviously makes her matches feel legit and it's a style of wrestling that I really love to watch. She's become synonymous with street fights in AEW because of how good she is at beating people's asses. But at the same time, she's legitimately the sweetest person in the world and it's impossible not to like her. It's an uncommon synergy to see in Western women's wrestling and Willow uses it perfectly. I can understand skepticism of how good Nightingale would be as a heel, but how many of us were saying the same thing about Bayley in like 2018? Willow is so good at being in front of a camera that I have full confidence she could be just as effective as a face or a heel. She's just one of those wrestlers who "gets it", who can combine the character work with the personality and the size and toughness and the look and the in-ring acumen and all of that stuff into one amazing package. There is some room for improvement but I believe we still haven't seen the best of Willow Nightingale yet."

[9.0] "The best Babyface in AEW in my opinion. Everything about her is just so likeable and can put on some heater of matches. She wasn't used well in 2025 but they did super well with her in December and that's great. Hoping for a big 2026 for her!"

[8.0] "Willow is the prototype for a babyface. She is a likeable as a person, shows good fire in her promos and comebacks and works like a babyface should. I wish her booking was better because she could/should be the top star in AEW's womens' division. She's that good. Funny part is she's young and only gonna get better as she gains more experience. I don't think she can be a believable heel, but I don't see that as a negative because most people can't be the same level of face as she is."

[10.0] "Phenomenal in the ring, charismatic, entertaining on the mic, can work singles and tag, hardcore when she needs to be, has a really cool and unique look. Just an incredibly likeable pure babyface, extremely refreshing and always makes me smile."

[8.0] "I think she is one of AEW best babyfaces today. She kinda of reminds me of Bayley when she did the hugger gimmick. Do I think her run in AEW has been great? Kind of just a few questionable decisions. For starters her first run as TBS Champion was for 35 days and not even letting her defend it. And my other issue why didn't they run Willow and Kris feud for the AEW Women's Championship. But other than that, She overall great wrestler and lovely human being."

[8.0] "One of the first AEW wrestlers I ever saw when I got back into watching professional wrestling. She's a great women's talent, and as of making this comment, she's carried every women's tag title feud she's been in. Great wrestler, great face, great character, just a great women's wrestler who's due for a world title reign."

[8.0] "Willow is some of the few wrestlers around the world that makes you feel happiness coming out of her. He is someone that makes you feel happy not only because she is good at what she does inside and outside ring, an hypnotizing charisma effect that anyone could be addicted with. Still think she is not her best version of a wrestler YET, but AEW should trust her much more than they do right now for her show that I am fucking right. Her career at Japan is also pretty cool, for some reason I think he can have some better usage in those arenas facing some joshi wrestlers, her powerhosue style fits with most part of them."

[8.0] "Willow is one most genuine Babyfaces I have ever seen just a very likeable character she a very good promo, and a great professional wrestler she going have a big year."

[8.0] "Very likable on promos and her charisma shines through within her matches as well. She's good enough in the ring and should've been the one to win the world title. Both her and Stat are good workers but she's much more prepared for promos. Has a clear identity and can also handle more serious promos as well. She should be world champion right now."

[8.0] "Took me a while to get into Willow but the Statlander feud sold me. She's so fun and likable and the crowd is always engaged in her matches."

[8.0] "Not a fan of her gimmick but she can definitely go in the ring especially in street/hardcore matches."

[10.0] "Genuinely one of the most natural babyfaces pro wrestling has ever seen, on the mic and in the ring. A remarkable wrestler both on the backfoot and dominating with power offense (love her Pounce). AEW are genuinely crazy if she's not positioned as one of their top stars within a year (and honestly they could've already done it by now). On the shortlist for the best wrestlers in the world."

[10.0] "One of the best wrestlers in America, and criminally underutilized by AEW. Willow has babyface star power that few other wrestlers in the US are able to capture. The obvious comparison is to Bayley's run in NXT and the early section of her WWE career. Willow's personality pops off the screen, with only Toni, Mercedes, and Athena above her in the women's division. I'm a big fan of all three aforementioned wrestlers, but Willow needs to beat one of them soon."

[9.0] "Willow's the quintessential babyface! it's impossible not to smile when she's in action. Great charisma and energy, with a fun to watch powerhouse style. When the time comes to transition from the current top women's stars of AEW like Toni Storm and Mercedes Moné, she's almost certainly going to be at or near the front of the line of people to be the face of the division."

[10.0] "Perfect babyface. She is one of the most likeables wrestlers in the world, which is even more impressive as a powerhouse. Still, she can look bad ass and intimidating, she seems to have perfect control on how to do it and how to go for one "side" to the other without making it unnatural or cringy while being great in the ring. The type of babyface you can build the brand around."

[9.0] "What is there to say? She's a very good wrestler, she's cute and she has tons of charisma and energy. She's also very athletic for her size and uses Monty Brown's finisher. To top it all of she's also good on the mic."

[10.0] "Personally, one of my favorite wrestlers -- a powerhouse with an infectious personality. Willow is incredible in the ring, I don't think I've ever been bored in a match with her in it. I'd love to see her in a feud with Moxley because that has the potential to be the greatest intergender feud ever seen (and hopefully make way for more intergender wrestling in general). Outside of my hopes and dreams, Willow is just an all around fantastic wrestler who deserves all the accolades and more (world title run, when? )"

[10.0] "She's a stellar babyface powerhouse who's so good at getting crowds on her side. It's hard to quantify just how loveable she is. Her in-ring skills also rock. Her relationships with other women on the roster are also compelling. It's hard not to root for her, and that's the whole point."

[10.0] "The epitome of a great babyface. Willow is just so lovable, and she shows that in her character. Her in ring is incredible and she shows a viciousness that contrasts with her character very well. One of the very best women's wrestlers in the world. Should be the ace of AEW"

[8.0] "In a sea full of fit, pretty girls; Willow offers something different. She brings a different dynamic to most things she's involved in, which is important to fully flush out a division. Considering only the wrestling skills & not the character work: Comparing her against another bigger girl like Nia Jax, it's easy to see how much better Willow is. A bigger girl has a lot of responsibility when working with a smaller girl & you can see how Willow succeeds where Nia fails."

[10.0] "What's not to love about Willow? From her theme music, perfect poppy personality, and good in-ring work, she's the total package when it comes to a women's wrestler. She invokes Dusty in a sense that she isn't this premier toned athlete(But can still totally tear it down, don't get me wrong), but rather a positive everywoman that works hard and achieves they're dreams. She has an amazing look and when she shoulder tackles someone across the ring it kills every time. I always make time to watch a Willow match/"

[7.0] "At one point she was trying to do high flying luchador moves like springboards and moonsaults and none of it looked good. Since she's stopped doing that her matches have improved greatly. She has a lot of charisma and reminds me a lot of early NXT Bayley. That type of whitemeat babyface might be passe' now but I still think there's a place in wrestling for it and Willow fills that role nicely."

[10.0] "She is the future of women's wrestling. Her matches usually tend to be must watches for me, her character and promo work are very well balanced, and every title she's held so far has been a memorable reign to watch, especially her NJPW STRONG Women's title run and CMLL Women's World Title runs. I hope her career continues it's upward projection to the top of the women's wrestling world!"

[10.0] "Willow is my personal favorite babyface wrestler going today. I can't underestimate that this is the best pure babyface I've witnessed in a decade +, and she's AWESOME bell to bell. Willow has a great presentation, has such incredible charisma, great wrestling look, and is just an insanely memorable wrestler to a layman. She's also just incredibly likable, and just keeps improving, excited to see where she continues to grow"

[8.0] "Willow is great. One of the most consistent AEW womens performers, and can have a good match with just about anyone. When she is given the chance, she can have a 5 star match as seen with her matches against Mercedes, Kris and Athena. On top of that, she is one of the best womens babyfaces in any company and you naturally cheer her. I will be surprised if Willow does not win a championship in 2025."

[8.0] "Willow Nightingale is such a great babyface and in a natural way that radiates to the crowds & fans. Her aura of being so joyful and a powerhouse works to her advantage and has benefited her to some notable moments in AEW & other promotions."

"8/10 Looks like she has been wrestling for years but got limelight in last two years. She is an wonder in ring perfomer and probably best babyface in AEW today."

[8.0] "Previously rated Willow a 7 but now is definitely an 8 in my opinion. Definitely a future AEW Woman's Champion down the line despite a sad, almost transitional title reign TBS Championship reign (although her matches were very good). Great in the ring, but for what she does lacks in the ring she easily makes up for in character and charisma. It's not even a 'gimmick' per say, but just natural babyface charisma which she excels heavily in being. Starting in Dark and naturally making her way up the ranks, arguably AEWs best success from someone who is not that 'established' before coming in. Can't wait to see more from her."

[9.0] "An incredible babyface. So naturally likeable. In-ring, she's an impressive powerhouse, although not quite up to the level of a Kris Statlander who simply has seemingly flawless execution, while Willow can struggle in her execution from time to time. Any slight shortcomings to her game are more than made up by her character work and crowd awareness. Her promo game has become all world be simply speaking authentically with confidence. And more and more, she shows that 6th sense of knowing how to present a story beat both on camera and to the live audience. She's such a star and could become the face of this division."

[8.0] "Willow Nightingale is one of the best babyfaces in AEW. Her character work is great. She's very good in the ring. She has charisma and gets over with the crowd. Happy when she can be, but gets serious in the ring."

[9.0] "One of the best white meat babyfaces we have in the business right now. I can not remember the last time just someone who is so happy go lucky made me believe in everything they said. Aside from her person, her in ring is awesome too. The pounce, Babe with the Powerbomb, and literally any other move are so much fun to see her hit. When looking back at her career we will see someone who will be changing the industry (hopefully)"

[10.0] "One of the best women in all of pro wrestling. The last month has shown that she has it all. She's charismatic, she's electric, she can wrestle any style, and she has delivers on the microphone. There is nothing she can't do and any company could get behind her and have a star on their hands."

[10.0] "One of the very best babyfaces in the world. Willow is such a complete wrestler, with in-ring ability, awesome selling and storytelling, and strong promos. I love the positive nihilist character, it feels very in sync with the cultural zeitgeist. And she seems like one of the genuinely nicest people in wrestling. Love her!"

[7.0] "So charming and really talented in the ring... I feel like her talents are somewhat buried by AEW's poor booking with the women's division, as she rarely gets the time to build a great match with a worthy opponent. Really hoping her building feud with Mone means plenty of great matches for her in the future. Check out her match at BEYOND versus Wheeler Yuta, it really shows that the woman has chops."

[9.0] "You are dead inside or otherwise just do not get wrestling if you think Willow Nightingale is bad. Theres no helping you."

[8.0] "Loved the rise of Willow in early 2023. Hope to see more of that in 2024 and less of the late 2023 booking she'd been getting."