Wrestling Spotlight: Believing in Athena’s comeback

Truth is, all of us can sit here and talk about Athena’s historic resume in wrestling, but it would be us singing the same song. Whether fans know her as Ember Moon in WWE or as Athena, it’s the same person who has gone through ups and downs in her career. This includes periods of championships and moments of uncertainty.

The part that has made Athena’s journey so personal for us is a moment that actually happened outside of the ring and reflected a renewed appreciation and gratefulness for Athena as a wrestler. Looking at Athena overcoming her injury brought a new appreciation and gratefulness that she made it back to the ring.

Athena’s emotional comeback in wrestling.

Most fans still identify her as Ember Moon in WWE, and that’s really where everything started in terms of a renewed appreciation for the competitor. It came from the segment that was uploaded on May 20, 2020, through WWE on Fox’s Twitter account. That was when she emotionally stated that the injury she had could have been a career-ender.

The whole atmosphere of that segment turned bleak and instantly with how many retirements that happened up to that point. It brought so many emotions since Athena clearly has a lot more to do in wrestling.

That moment brought an initial moment where fans had mixed emotions between wishing her well to sadness that her career could in fact be over. The outpour on social media was not in short supply at all.

So many thoughts came to mind how Athena has always been a wrestler where her milestones were expected, from her winning the NXT women’s championship to putting on dream matches against fellow competitors. A question came to mind: Is her greatness taken for granted? Yes.

As Athena made her way to the main roster just before the injury, that’s when it became a wake-up call. Even though she is the same athlete she has always been, her placement was very different than when she was on NXT and accomplished different accolades on the black and gold brand.

After thinking about everything she has accomplished in her career, all any of us could think about is that this injury is not the end of her and she will come back from it. All that mattered was seeing her in the ring again. it wasn’t about championships or how many dream matches can be fulfilled as something expected before.

Eventually, Athena came back on WWE NXT and she was wrestling again. This time as a fan, watching her perform was different than before when she held the NXT women’s championship. It was appreciation and believing in her as a performer.

She would go on to win the NXT women’s tag team championships with Shotzi Blackheart. There was a new appreciation for Athena as she held championship gold. At the end of the day, it was just great to see her back in the ring on NXT.

There were even thoughts about her picking up her second NXT women’s championship, but unfortunately, it was cut short due to WWE releasing her. It was such a difficult moment since there would have been more of an appreciation for her carrying the title this time around than previously before.

Athena getting released may have been a blessing in disguise because WWE was inconsistent with using her. This allowed for her to have freedom without uncertainty as seen through the second half of her run on the main roster before her injury.

The appreciation and freedom were evident as Athena connected with her fans on Twitch. Like many other wrestlers in independent wrestling who utilize that platform, there are connections between what they say and what happens next on their journey.

Athena made the most of it with a dream match against Thunder Rosa being fulfilled. Everything about the match was a home run, and what came after with Athena pouring her heart to the fans with gratitude was enough to show her own happiness.

Even though it was tragic that it took an injury while she was in WWE to fully appreciate her greatness, that moment was everything. The best is truly yet to come as she continues around the independent wrestling circuit.

Whether she gets signed to a major company or continues to make history in various wrestling companies. Either way, fans will take in every moment and appreciate her greatness as opposed to just expecting it to happen. That makes the journey that much more enjoyable and every accolade living in the moment.

Athena’s greatness is obvious and there will be major appreciation no matter what’s next for it. All fans can do is enjoy what has already happened and enjoy what is to come as she continues to shine.