Maya World has commented on the loss of her brother after earning her spot in the finals of the AEW Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final against Mercedes Moné at Forbidden Door 2026.
With Mercedes Moné’s spot in the Owen Hart Cup Final already secured following her win over Hazuki on the June 17 episode of AEW Dynamite, Maya World pulled off a major upset by knocking off ROH Women’s World Champion Athena in the other semifinal match on last night’s June 20 episode of AEW Collision.
This potentially career-changing win comes just two weeks after World’s life was turned upside down by the sudden loss of her brother, 25-year-old, Jatwane Anton Wilson, with the AEW star attributing her love of wrestling to her brother in a social media post after his death.
After her win over Athena on AEW Collision, AEW cameras caught up with World, as she commented on her brother’s passing and the “dream match” now ahead of her at Forbidden Door 2026:
“Just to think, two weeks ago I was sitting on the couch thinking what life would be like without my brother. But careers aren’t made on the couch, so I sucked it up. I sucked up every fear, every tear, and I came to work.
“And Athena, you can rage, you can complain, you can be as angry as you want to be. But you taught me well, so thank you, and I’m sorry. Because now I’m about to walk through that Forbidden Door, and you can only check my tweets to find out what I think about Mercedes Moné. I’m a day one Mercedes girl, and I dreamed of this match before I even laced up my first pair of boots. But I never dreamed it would be like this.
“The Owen Hart Tournament was made for moments like this. For someone like me, for a small town girl from Dallas, Texas to fight the biggest of giants.
“Whether it be a ‘Forever Champion’ or a ‘CEO.’ ‘The It Girl’ Mya World is coming, and that Owen Hart Cup, I walk past and I see it shining, and I know what my destiny is. So, at Forbidden Door, ‘The It Girl’ is coming for that trophy and my hero Mercedes Moné.”
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Adding to her underdog story is the fact that Maya World was not even originally scheduled to compete in this year’s Owen Hart Tournament at all, as her spot was originally scheduled to be filled by Sareee.
Unfortunately for the Japanese star however, she was forced to pull out due to injury – which was the same reason 2023 Owen Hart Cup winner Willow Nightingale had to be removed from participation in this year’s tournament.
We continue to express our deepest condolences to Maya World following her loss.
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