AEW seems to have started promoting their latest big signing from Japan

A mysterious spider graphic descended down the screen multiple times during Toni Storm’s match on the May 7 Dynamite, quickly followed by a report they’ve signed a joshi with a spidery nickname.

Multiple times during AEW Women’s World champion Timeless Toni Storm’s Title Eliminator 4way on the May 7 Dynamite, a red & black spider descended down the side of the screen.

At first blush, I was thinking it must be some kind of Spider-man-related tie-in to promote an upcoming movie marathon on TBS. But then I spied the radioactive symbol on the spider’s back, and remembered that former Stardom wrestler Thekla is nicknamed “The Toxic Spider”. Just last week, reports indicated that AEW officials believed Thekla would be joining their company despite heavy interest from WWE.

Sure enough, looking at the replies to TDE’s post, I found that the wrestle web was ahead of me...

A 32-year-old who hails from Austria, Thekla recently ended a four-year run in Japanese promotion Stardom. She held Stardom’s tag and trios belts while teaming with current WWE NXT star Giulia in her Donna Del Mondo stable and eventually leading her own heel group H.A.T.E.

And now it seems she’s set to join an increasingly loaded AEW women’s division. Sure enough, not long after the graphic appeared during Dynamite, Fightful Select reported that Thekla has signed with AEW as part of a move to the United States she’s been planning for sometime.

For joshi fans, are you excited the Toxic Spider is coming to AEW? If you’re not familiar with Thekla, are you now intrigued enough to want to learn more?