Willow Nightingale: In Defeat, I Do Not Smile, But I Must Remember That Eventually I Will Smile Again

Willow Nightingale says that while she does not smile in defeat, she must remember that eventually she will smile again.

At AEW All In 2026 on Sunday evening, Willow would defend her AEW Women’s World Championship against Mercedes Mone, with Mone scoring the victory and ending Nightingale’s world title reign after just 35 days. Nightingale would come into the match with a broken hand, and is now expected to miss some time for the injury to heal after losing her championship.

In a new social media post on Monday morning, Willow Nightingale would react to her loss at AEW All In, noting that while she does not smile in defeat, but that eventually she will smile again.

“In defeat, I do not smile but I can pull my bruised and aching body out of bed knowing I gave my all, and maybe not today or tomorrow or even the day after that, but I must remember that eventually… I will smile again”

In defeat, I do not smile

but I can pull my bruised and aching body out of bed knowing I gave my all

And maybe not today or tomorrow or even the day after that, but I must remember that eventually… I will smile again

Let’s keep pushing forward

— Willow Nightingale (@willowwrestles) August 31, 2026

In a recent interview, Nightingale spoke about dealing with recent injuries in the lead up to AEW All In. You can read more about that here.

Elsewhere in a recent interview with Fightful, Willow spoke about advice she would give to Mercedes Mone. You can read more about that here.