Athena Calls Out Double Standard In Pro Wrestling After Backlash From Her Stiff In-Ring Style

Athena had a solid run in WWE NXT but the same was not the case on the main roster. She eventually made her way to AEW and after a subpar babyface character, Athena underwent transition in character. She also called out the double standards after she received backlash due to her stiff in-ring style.

Athena has not been seen in the best of light as of late. This all started after she squared off against Jody Threat on the October 12, 2022, edition of Dark Elevation. Athena was extremely aggressive during the match and landed some stiff shots, which drew the ire of many.

This also marked the start of a huge shift in her character as she is simply a heel who loves destroying her opponents. However, she received a lot of fan backlash due to her moves since then.

While speaking on Busted Open Radio, Athena was asked about her shift in in-ring style. Athena then called out the double standards when it came to men and women being stiff in the ring.

Cause I feel like it. Sometimes, nice guys finish last. Sometimes, you get frustrated and it’s hard because you’re trying to find an opportunity to not get lost in the shuffle because at AEW, there are so many talented women just across the board and it’s like, what can you do to stand out? You’re asking questions like, why am I stuck in this position? Why is this happening to me? Am I not good? Finally, you have to just say ‘eff it.’ That’s basically what I’ve done. I’m going to do what I do best. For ten years, before I signed to WWE, I was probably one of the most notorious heels, I worked my entire Indie career as the bad guy. I event got the nickname ‘The American Joshi’ because of my hard-hitting style. People forget about that. Through my entire TV career, it’s something I always wanted to get back to.

The girls can hit just as hard as the guys. I have to sit there and see Jon Moxley and (Chris) Jericho and (Wheeler) Yuta, all of these guys hit the tar out of each other. I guarantee you, if I was a man, there wouldn’t be as much backlash or anything about that. It’s all these old bloated farts that want to sit there and tell us we need to look pretty. They complain when it’s a dance, they complain when we hit hard. Get over it. We’re out here to be just as good as the guys. We give it our all and put in all this time and effort to hone our craft and I feel we’re under-appreciated when we do things like that.”

Athena is clearly a heel, and fans are slowly getting invested in her new character. She will challenge Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women’s Championship at ROH Final Battle on December 10th. We’ll have to see whether Athena will be able to win the match or not.

What’s your take on what Athena said? Sound off in the comments!