A former WWE talent has continued to throw jibes at AEW, this time for apparently 'disrespecting' her. The star in question is Athena, who has been making strides with her heelish antics.
The former Ember Moon had an impressive six-year run with WWE until being abruptly released in November 2021. Although widely admired for her in-ring finesse, she failed to clinch a top title in the sports entertainment juggernaut.
The former NXT Women's Champion returned to the independent scene until AEW acquired her services in May 2022. Once a beloved babyface, The Fallen Goddess embraced a vicious heel persona and defeated Mercedes Martinez to claim the ROH Women's World Championship in December.
The reigning champion was scheduled to face Willow Nightingale last week, but the latter's unfortunate injury postponed the bout. Subtly taking a dig at AEW, she questioned the legitimacy of the health situation.
Taking to Twitter, Athena, in character, continued her devious antics by questioning the AEW management for their travel arrangements.
"Wth...Just got on the plane and sat in my seat... on a 100% full flight. After last week especially, why would you do this to me??? Middle seat in coach... Sooo much disrespect for the #ForeverROHChamp."
Athena reflects on her struggles with ''WWE PTSD''
During her time in WWE, the Texas native feuded with several top names the promotion had to offer. Although she was the highlight of NXT, her momentum eventually tumbled on the main roster with start-stop bookings.
On The Sessions with Renee Paquette, Athena described her initial experience working for All Elite Wrestling.
"When I full bore got here [AEW], I was still the good guy, I still had a couple of really good promos in there with Jade [Cargill], and then it became, 'Okay, thank you for that. We’ll call you when we have something, but here’s Dark.' And then it became, okay — the entire time, I was like, what can I do? And I just felt lost for a while. I was like, no one’s telling me I’m doing a bad job. Everyone’s like, ‘You’re great! You’re doing great!’ And I was like, 'Why? What is happening?' And it’s almost a little bit of that WWE PTSD that seeps in of, like, am I gonna be in catering for four months? Oh my God!”
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The 16-year veteran will face Willow Nightingale at Rampage this week in the semi-finals of the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. It remains to be seen who emerges victorious and advances to the final.
What are your thoughts on Athena's recent character work? Sound off in the comment section below.