Athena wasn’t simply selling when she was spotted lying on the floor during the ROH Death Before Dishonor main event. The ROH Women’s World Champion has now revealed she suffered an asthma attack in the middle of her match with Hazuki.
Athena took to Twitter after the August 21 show and responded to a clip that had left some fans confused. The footage showed Athena down outside the ring while Billie Starkz yelled toward a fan to give her some time because she’d had a long night. With Athena remaining on the floor, some people wondered why nobody appeared to be doing anything. Now Athena has explained what was actually happening.
“Yeah…. so ….had an asthma attack mid match…. glad my minions had my back!!! A major thank you to @aew @ringofhonor staff for the quick response… keeping the #ForeverROHChamp in peak condition”
That makes what Athena did afterwards considerably more impressive. The asthma attack happened during a main event that had already turned into a brutal fight, and Athena still continued through the rest of the match.
Hazuki pushed the champion through several close calls, including an avalanche crucifix bomb, Codebreaker, top-rope senton and sheer drop brainbuster. Their fight eventually spilled all the way to the commentary area, where Hazuki put Athena through the table with a splash from the top rope.
Billie Starkz and Diamante also became involved after referee Mike Posey went down, only for Hazuki to fight both of them off before turning her attention back to Athena. Athena eventually caught Hazuki with an O-Face to the outside before bringing things back into the ring and hitting one more O-Face to retain the ROH Women’s World Championship.
The sight of Athena lying at ringside looked strange without any context, especially with Starkz trying to get people to give her time. It turns out the champion was dealing with a legitimate asthma attack in the middle of one of the biggest matches on the ROH calendar before somehow finishing the match and retaining her title.
What do you make of Athena managing to finish the Death Before Dishonor main event after suffering an asthma attack? Let us know in the comments below.
