Athena should win the Women’s Owen Hart Cup

Athena should win the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament and continue her dominant streak.

AEW is running its second annual Owen Hart Cup Tournament in partnership with the Owen Hart Foundation. The Cup consists of two single-elimination tournaments, one each for men and women. The winners receive a trophy called “The Owen” and commemorative championship belts.

Last year the tournament concluded at the Double or Nothing PPV with Britt Baker and Adam Cole winning their respective tournaments. This year the tournament will take place during AEW’s Canadian tour and will conclude in Calgary, Owen Hart’s hometown, on the July 15th episode of Collision.

AEW announced the competitors and brackets for the tournaments on the most recent episode of Dynamite. The quarterfinals of the tournament will see the following matches:

• Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue on Rampage in Chicago, IL on June 23rd. Blue won and advanced to the semi-finals.
• Nyla Rose vs. Willow Nightingale on the upcoming Collision in Toronto, ONT on June 24th.
• The Forbidden Door Zero Hour buy-in will see Athena vs. Billie Starkz in Toronto, ONT, on June 25th.
• The final quarterfinal match will see last year’s finalists, Britt Baker and Ruby Soho, face off in Hamilton, ONT on the June 28th episode of Dynamite.

Athena should win the Women’s Owen Hart Cup.

There could be a case made for many of the women in the tournament that they should win. There are two current champions, the Ring of Honor Women’s Champion, Athena, and the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, Willow Nightingale, and also, two former AEW World Champions, Britt Baker and Nyla Rose in this tournament. Skye Blue and Billie Starkz are the youngest competitors, but Blue especially has been on a role in AEW and Ring of Honor as of late, picking up more wins and momentum each week. The tournament is stacked with talent, and it feels like it’s anybody’s to win.

Athena is the ROH Women’s Champion and has been since she won the title in December of last year at ROH’s Final Battle PPV. Since becoming Champion she has been on a tear and has run through every challenger put before her, including her fellow tournament competitors, Nightingale and Blue. Athena has not lost a singles match since becoming Champion, and her winning the entire tournament would add to her utter dominance and solidify her further as the top women’s wrestler in North America, or even, the world.

Her winning the tournament could also be a way to integrate her back onto AEW television. She has not appeared on AEW television since November of last year. She did make several appearances on AEW Dark, the former YouTube show but has been exclusive to ROH since becoming Champion. Having Athena back on television would add even more depth to AEW’s women’s division and would certainly bring fresh matchups.