Athena has been flying high recently thanks to a darker edge to her persona, and the latest chapter of her AEW career saw her defeat Mercedes Martinez in an intensely physical bout to become the new ROH Women’s World Champion at ROH Final Battle. This was her first title since moving to AEW/ROH.
At the media scrum after the event, Athena spoke to journalist, and she told Wrestling Inc. that AEW is a better first for her than WWE. She believes that her current employers take her more seriously as an in-ring competitor:
“When I got to the other place, it wasn’t necessarily about the wrestling, it was about the entertainment, which isn’t bad. We tried that, it wasn’t a fit for me, but I think a big difference here is that, one, I know I’m good in the ring and it’s taken a while and I think I’ve proven myself to TK and just showed that I can do both. But mostly for me personally, especially with a Ring of Honor championship, this is a wrestling championship. I am a wrestler.”
The new ROH Honor Club debuts soon, where ROH and NJPW will work together to come up with new content. This could mean Athena defends her title often here, alongside occasional appearances on AEW TV.
