Athena, formerly known as Ember Moon in WWE, made her AEW debut at Double Or Nothing after TBS Champion Jade Cargill retained her title.
She defeated Kiera Hogan in her debut AEW match last week at the Rampage. Athena recently appeared on Complex’s Unsanctioned, where he reflected on her debut. Here are the highlights:
Her AEW debut:
“And for me to come out at Double or Nothing, I, one, was super shocked. I didn’t know what the reaction would be, which like I said, I try to be extremely humble in that is that I do what I love because this is what I love, you know what I mean? And you just never know what the reciprocation is going to be when that happens and for me to walk out and I just remember in the backstage area, right before they hit my music, I was just holding my stomach because I was like, ‘I think I might puke. I am so rattled with nerves right now. I think this is it, mama’s gonna puke on TV, this is it’ and the music hit, ‘The Fallen Goddess’ hit and that place erupted and I just was like, I remember in my head thinking, I’m gonna walk to the ring all smooth and cool and be like a badass and then all of a sudden, the crowd’s energy just kind of went through me and I was slapping my chest, I was like — I got extra sassy and chaotic and I just was loving every moment of it and I just remember coming down, staring Jade [Cargill] in the face which is the first time we met face-to-face was in the ring, Kiera [Hogan] and Red Velvet and just being like, ‘Yeah, you messed up now! That Twitter got you in trouble,’ because that was the first interaction we had. Her saying, ‘Who’s next?’ And me going, ‘Hmm…’ and it just — the conversation went viral, it went crazy and like, I never would’ve thought that-that in a million years would have led to a face-to-face — to be honest with you — in the ring but it did and I am just — I’ve never been happier to feel everyone’s appreciation. Just of the moment, just me being in the ring, just feeling it in my heart and I promised myself when I got to AEW that I wasn’t gonna cry anymore, that I was just gonna be appreciative and just be happy to be in there and I remember putting my foot on the second rope and kind of leaning over and just grabbing my chest because I was like, don’t cry. It’s your first night here, don’t cry and I wanted to so bad just because I was so happy and it’s been the first time in a very long time that I had just felt that way and it was just so pure and raw and there’s no way to describe it.”
Backstage reaction and Tony Khan:
“I didn’t tell any of my friends that I was coming [to AEW], none of them. Mind you, I have a lot of friends at AEW that I’ve known from the independent scene and just in life and when I came back through the curtain, they were like, ‘Oh! Screw you! You couldn’t tell me!?’ And it was just like the warmest embrace. Nyla Rose was the first one. I thought she was gonna powerbomb me through a table backstage, she was so pissed, because I have also known her since I first started wrestling. You know, Leva [Bates], Thunder Rosa, she was like, ‘You couldn’t tell me!?’ And I’m like, ‘I wasn’t gonna say nothing.’ That’s how secrets are kept. Ruby Soho, same thing, just like, ‘You couldn’t tell me!?’ And it was so nice to just see people genuinely happy for me in that moment and just knowing that we’re all ready to go, we’re all ready to go out there and kill it and just show them why this is gonna be or that we are the best division on the damn planet and then seeing Tony [Khan] after my entrance, he was just like, ‘That was so great, I’m pumped, you pumped?’ And mind you, he got me so pumped up after the entrance, I don’t think I slept ‘till like 3 or 4 AM. I was like, ‘Yeah! Yeah! Let’s go!’ And then realized I wasn’t wrestling and I had to walk around and do nothing after but he has that charismatic energy of just like, yeah! Let’s do this! And he’s so hype that you wanna get on his level. You’re like, yeah! I’m hyped too! Let’s go! I’m doing nothing. I have nothing else to do for the night. I finished everything. Thank you Tony for this energetic pump that I can’t use for a gym because there’s not one in the arena.”
You can listen to the interview below:
(H/T to POST Wrestling for quotes)
