Athena Reveals She And WWE Got Close To Major Character Change

In an interview with "Bleav", host Rick Ucchino asked Athena whether she wanted to create a new character after she signed with AEW or explore her past as Athena once she was released from WWE. Athena revealed that she wanted to go back to the Athena character while she was still with WWE. She revealed that they almost got there, but it fell through for whatever reason.

Athena also revealed that her husband, indie wrestler Matthew Palmer, inspired her to go back to her roots as Athena. He suggested that she go back to the character in order to show people what she can do on a platform she's passionate about. She continued on to say that she thought the idea was "stupid" at first, but after thinking about it for a while, she came to the conclusion that he was right. She went on to state that she feels the most comfortable as Athena both in and out of the ring, and she is excited for the opportunity she has to grow as the character as part of AEW.

"Before, I had to create something completely new and completely different, something that was out of the box and all mystery, just hoping people would get it. Now, I'm happy being a wrestler again. I'm happy expressing my art."

Athena continued on to say that after her release from WWE, she pondered what she was going to do with her life next. She thought about the possibility of pursuing other ventures outside of the ring but ultimately decided that she would return to compete on the independent circuit.

"There is that weird 90 days where you go, 'I don't know what to do with myself.' It also doesn't help because you have 90 days to do absolutely nothing. A lot of it was asking myself if I want to wrestle again."

Athena was released from WWE on November 4 along with a number of other people due to budget cuts. She returned to the indies for a while before making her debut in AEW at Double or Nothing. She is currently aligned with Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale as they feud with the Baddies (Jade Cargill, Kiera Hogan, Red Velvet, Leila Grey, and Stokley Hathaway).

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Bleav with a h/t to Wrestling INC. for the transcription.