Kris Statlander Opens Up About Using Sign Language On TV

Published: Jun 29, 2022 by SP3 | Last Updated: Jun 29, 2022 by SP3

Born in Harlem, New York and now living in the Bronx, Sid Pullar III aka SP3 is a lifelong wrestling fan who has been covering the industry for over nine years as a podcaster and writer. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as WrestleTalk, Sports Illustrated and more.

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Kris Statlander Opens Up About Using Sign Language On TV

AEW star Kris Statlander opened up about using sign language on television.

Statlander has been gaining momentum on AEW TV in her ongoing feud with TBS Champion Jade Cargill and The Baddies.

Besides her various talents inside the squared circle, the AEW star also has skills beyond the ring.

Speaking with Jaychele Nicole, Kris Statlander discussed why she likes to use sign language on television.

She said:

“I just wanted to do something different. I don’t actually know anyone that’s deaf. I don’t have a reason to know ASL. I know once I started doing it, some people were raising questions like ‘Do I have a reason to use it in my life?’ And I don’t. I just thought it was something useful to learn.”

Statlander continued on to explain why she believes it’s an under-appreciated language, saying:

“It’s kind of an underappreciated language, so I figured ‘Why not? Try something different.’ It seems to be getting a really good reaction, which I’m very happy about. I’m not fluent in sign language, but I can do a basic sentence, like ‘Do you want water? Are you hungry? My name is Kris.’ I can do all that stuff.”

The AEW star further explained how she has used sign language throughout her career even before coming to the promotion, saying:

“I originally got the idea to do sign language because on the indies, sometimes if I was the bad guy, I would do an F and a U,” Statlander said. “So I’d say an ‘FU’ during my entrance, and no one knew what it meant, but I did and it was funny to me. So sometimes I would do that, and that’s kind of where I got the idea to find a way to incorporate sign language a little bit more.

“It’s so different, especially if there’s a deaf person watching TV and see something like that, instead of having to read the subtitles all the time, so you can actually focus on the action for a moment. I think it’s a cool little way to reach out to that (underserved community). They’re just not communicated to, the deaf community, as often.”

Kris Statlander has been aligned with Athena since her arrival in All Elite Wrestling in a rivalry against The Baddies.

Keep track of Statlander’s win-loss record (for televised matches) at this link.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

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