Harley Cameron has a lot to be proud of as 2025 comes to an end. Not only is she one half of the first-ever AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions, but she’s grateful.
In an exclusive interview with Brass Ring Media, Cameron opened up on a variety of topics including her pro wrestling journey, the importance of tag team wrestling and how suited she is for it, what it takes to compete in a tag team, Tony Khan, and the state of AEW.
Cameron provided a wide-range of in-depth answers and gave AEW fans true insight into what makes her tick as a star.
Zack Heydorn: This weekend, it’s AEW World’s End. It’s Chicago. December 27. You and Willow Nightingale defending the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships against Mercedes Mone and Athena. How crazy is that for you?
Harley Cameron: I’m feeling honored. There is just a fire in us right now to show why we are the best. Mercedes and Athena are incredible athletes. They are two of the best who have ever done it, but Willow and I are ready for the challenge.
ZH: What kind of responsibility do you feel holding that championship for the first time?
HC: I was talking about this the other day with her (Willow). Wrestling in general, it’s a mixture of things. It’s an emotional journey, it’s fun, it’s challenging, it’s rewarding. And now, having gold, it’s one of those things where you think, okay, there is a different level now. I want to represent the company well and want to represent the title well. I want to do my best for my tag team partner. It’s a level of responsibility, but it’s also just an honor. I don’t have kids, but it’s like having a baby. It’s kind of like having a little baby and I think that I just want to do my best for my baby. I want to protect my baby and I want to show why I’m a good mother. I guess there we go. Analogy. It’s like a baby around my waist.
ZH: You have had such an interesting journey in the pro wrestling industry and your career in general. I feel like you’ve come such a long way and in not that long of a time. How did you accomplish that?
HC: I’ve had a very different journey than most people and I feel very blessed to be in the position I’m in. And it’s a very cliche, old school saying, but I think that it’s a perfect example of my story. I think luck is when hard work and opportunity meet. And for me, I was very new, but I was so laser focused with this and I stayed consistent. I just knew I was going to give it my all when going into the world of pro wrestling. I had these opportunities come up and I was very lucky to have them, but I was also trained and taught that you don’t know when your time is and when it comes you better be ready. And I credit my coaches, Shawn Spears and Tyler Breeze for that massively, because I just feel like from day one I wasn’t training to see if I liked it. I fell in love with it. I said, this is what I want to do. There is no room for failure. You need to train like your life depends on it and that this is your shot, because it is your shot, like every opportunity is a chance. You don’t know what doors are going to open. You have to be ready and stay ready. And I was just very fortunate that things transpired the way they did. I kind of went in the deep end and you kind of either sink or swim. I’m thankful that I had such excellent coaching around me, that I had amazing opportunities, and that I had people in my life that really pushed me because now I’m one half of the first-ever AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions. I’ve only been wrestling for three years and it’s crazy. I can’t believe it, but I’m very, very thankful.
ZH: How do your thoughts on the wrestling industry change now that you’re in a tag team from when you were a singles act?
HC: It’s very cool. I actually haven’t spoken about this much, but I personally love tag team wrestling. I trained at Flat Backs. I trained a lot with the Gunns actually, Austin and Colton. Billy Gunn was someone who was there at the very beginning for me and is one of the people that initially trained me. I got to train with the boys in a tag team environment multiple times, so I actually felt more comfortable, and I felt like that I was more versed in a tag team structure. So interestingly enough, I enjoy the creativity of it. I feel like I’ve been around people who are really excellent tag team wrestlers. Cass and Jess were The IInspiration. I was in environments at Flat Backs with people who were doing tag team wrestling. I love it. I’m probably more confident and experienced in what I’ve had reps wise in a tag team. I don’t think a lot of people know that, because obviously that’s behind closed doors, as opposed to on TV.
ZH: Well, Billy Gunn is not a bad person to learn from when it comes to tag team wrestling.
HC. Billy is fantastic. On my first day in wrestling school, I’ll never forget it. I think he gave me one of my first clotheslines ever. And I remember one of my first times in the ring, he said, ‘you’re just so awkward. You’re like a baby deer on ice.’ And I went out to him the other day and I said, remember when you said I was a baby deer on ice? Well, look at me now, dear. Look at this on my shoulder, right? This deer just had a gold baby!
ZH: How different is working in a tag team compared to working as a single star?
HC: It’s a completely different ball game. You have to really learn the person you’re with. You guys might have different ways of working or different ways of thinking and different move sets and everything like that. So, it’s unique – finding the right person, the right fit, because you gel better with some people than others and you will have different opinions and everything. Willow and I just seem to have this natural organic chemistry. We’re very similar minded people with our work ethic and also our personalities are very, very similar. We’re very high energy and bubbly. We like to have fun, but like to kick ass at the same time. It’s finding the person that gels with you to be successful. Obviously, we have gelled very well, because we have been quite successful so far. So, it’s very different from going in there and as an individual and saying, I know who I am, I know what I am, I know what I think on my own, because you have someone else to think about when you’re in a team.
ZH: How often do you brainstorming stuff for the team? Whether it’s moves or something with the look or something on a promo? Is this like a text chain that you guys have? How do you guys get ideas and find new stuff to bring in?
HC: Oh, we talk almost every day. And it’s a consistent thing. It’s a never-ending thing. There isn’t a day or two that goes by where we aren’t talking about a particular match that inspired us, that we want the other person to watch, or reflecting on things we’ve done and how we can change them, or different outfits. It’s a relationship. It’s a bond, it’s a friendship, and it’s consistent communication, which I think attributes to our success.
ZH: You’ve incorporated so much into your pro wrestling character, Harley Cameron. Singing, guitar playing, and ventriloquism. How did that start? What do you feel like your ceiling is for that? Why is it important to do that?
HC: Wrestling is so many things and ultimately it is entertainment. And I’m really thrilled to have contributed to that within our company. I’ve been able to showcase different things that people might not have thought fit in the world of pro wrestling. I have had a really great opportunity to show how they do. A huge thank you to Tony Khan, obviously, because he has really put a lot of trust in the things that I do and given me the screen time to bring these things to life. They have made sense in the right storylines. I think it’s been really cool to have people watch the show and you’re obviously going to see amazing matches and wrestling and storytelling, but you’re also going to see some ventriloquism. You might see a live rap segment. You might see me live with the guitar. I think it’s really cool and I think it adds a lot of layers to our show.
ZH: How do you pitch that to Tony Khan? The ventriloquism.
HC: Tony’s really heavily in control with a lot of the creative process. He has more or less seen and heard from others about the things that I’ve done and then I’ve been given the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, this might work there.’ And then he’s given me the chance to do it. Everything, to a degree, is trial and error, but then when you do something and it goes well, I think that’s when you continue to do it. And I think more than anything, he’s allowed me to have those chances and I’ve just made sure that the things transpired well. That’s where I think the trust and the faith comes in, and then it’s continued and grown.
ZH: How’s your relationship with Tony Khan changed over the years? You’ve worked your way all the way up now to being the first Women’s Tag Team Champions in AEW with Willow. You have to have a good relationship with the person that’s at the top of the company in order to not only get opportunities, but also make sure you’re hitting base hits and home runs when he needs them?
HC: The great thing about Tony Khan is that he is a really good person. He has always been that way. It doesn’t change now that I’m a champion. He’s always been present. He’s always been kind. He’s always there. He watches every match. He’s so invested. You will finish your match and come back and he will be there. He’s always been open to approach and talk to. Tony has never treated me differently as I progressed. He’s just always been great. When I began, I was more nervous to approach him and talk to him, because I didn’t want to be intrusive or cross the lines of professionalism. But more than anything, I’ve just felt more comfortable as I’ve worked in the company longer. From day one, he’s been just wonderful. When someone treats you that way, when you just start out and it’s been consistent. It’s so rare. It’s so rare to have those people and we’re very lucky that kind of person is our boss.
ZH: You’ve been part of AEW for quite some time now. How has it changed since you first debuted?
HC: I’ve changed. That is the best way I can describe it. During the process, my experience in the company has evolved around how I take every day in the respect of my own personal growth. But, the one thing I can say wholeheartedly is that we have this awesome locker room. It feels like a family. More than anything, it’s fun to come to work. Everyone’s really wanting to make the show better. There’s obviously been changes that have come in and out. People have left and people have come in. But, I definitely think at the end of the year here, there’s this really good feeling in the air and I feel like we’re on this good path.
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