Top AEW Star: "WWE Wanted To Call Us 'Saucy' & 'Cheesy'" (WWE News)

Kris Statlander's only WWE match nearly saw her as one half of the Brooklyn Pizza Connection.

Mar 4, 2026 March 4th, 2026

Kris Statlander Elektra Lopez Karissa Kristen The Brooklyn Belles — WWE

AEW's Kris Statlander revealed that her one WWE match nearly saw her renamed Saucy or Cheesy.

Stat's only WWE match to date came back in April 2019, where she teamed with the future/former Elektra Lopez in a losing effort against the IIconics for the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. This came hot on the heels of the IIconics having just won those belts at WrestleMania 35 days earlier.

While they'd use their real names of Kristen and Karissa, collectively known as the Brooklyn Belles, it could've been so much worse for the pair, with a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet seeing Statlander explain the original plan for them:

"Originally, the team name was supposed to be the Brooklyn Pizza Connection, and we were supposed to be named Saucy and Cheesy."

When asked whether she was Saucy or Cheesy, the former AEW Women's Champion wasn't sure:

"I don't know, we never got that far, but those were the options. Then it was the Brooklyn Belles, and then just used our first names. It kinda would've been iconic to have been either Saucy or Cheesy, and my only match there was a Tag Title match, so, what a way to go in and go out right away. But yeah, now I have Tag Titles at AEW to go for, and maybe I'll be Saucy or Cheesy, or Garlic, or Oregano; something like that."

As for how this opportunity and certain other WWE extra work came about, Kris Statlander was quick to credit her relationship with Brian Myers for helping to open the door, with Stat having trained at Myers and Pat Buck's Create A Pro Wrestling Academy. In fact, Kris was the training school's first-ever female graduate.

Statlander would make her AEW debut in November 2019, teaming up with Big Swole on AEW Dark in a loss to Britt Baker and Riho, and the rest was history, as the New Yorker became #AllElite, and she's since gone on to become one of the most notable names in not just the women's division, but in all of AEW.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet with an H/T to WhatCulture Wrestling.

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