Athena wants to represent young wrestling fans who want to get into the business.
Athena may not be the best of characters to be a role model to fans, as the mean streak she has exhibited has been nothing short of brutal. At Ring Of Honor Final Battle this past weekend, Athena would end up becoming the Ring Of Honor Women’s World Champion. This would mark the first time a black woman has held the championship in the promotion.
During the Final Battle post show media scrum, Athena was asked what it meant to her about young fans being inspired by her to follow in her footsteps
I think representation is key. Just in general, it doesn’t matter what your ethnicity is. It doesn’t matter how old you are just having a representation. I’m going to make a terrible analogy because I didn’t have this as a kid. I watched up and watched Craig of the Creek one morning with my niece, and one of the coolest things was, like, her seeing someone, a person of color, just like her, having fun with everyone else. I’m not a big person about promoting race or anything like that because I feel like our ability and what we do in the ring speaks for ourselves. We just happen to be that ethnicity. We just happen to be that race. Though I will be a flag bearer for the African American community, I have no problem with that. I’m black girl magic. I am that nerd girl, that goth girl. I am everything everyone can’t be. But at the end of the day, it does mean a lot to stand up for people that don’t have a voice, whether it be children that are bullied, because I cannot stand that, even though I’m a little bit of a bully of myself.
Athena at ROH Final Battle Post Show Media Scrum
But just to stand up for people that can’t speak for themselves, that means the world to me. And that’s something that I heavily promote on all of my platforms.
Time will tell how Athena will continue to inspire fans, but for now she will look to make the most out of her reign as Ring Of Honor Women’s World Champion.
H/T to Brian Zilmen of PW Torch for transcription
Follow Corey at @CoreyBrennanBS on Twitter
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