Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion Athena has said she often felt like the “token black girl” at wrestling events during her time on the indies.

Prior to arriving in AEW/ROH, Athena competed as Ember Moon in WWE and on the independents before that.

The first-ever black ROH Women’s World Champion, Athena recalled feeling like an outsider at indie events during an episode of “The Sessions.” She said,

“I remember I was on the indies and it was just like, there was one black woman per state it seemed like. And it very much so seemed like, ‘Alright. We’ve got our token black girl here. We’re good guys.’ “And I remember going to other states and being like, ‘Oh, we booked you because you’re really talented and you’re African American.”

Athena also addressed how she feels the representation of black women in wrestling has grown significantly in recent years. She added,

“You see Bianca Belair, Mercedes Mone, Trinity, myself, Kayden Carter. You see all of these women … Willow Nightingale, Trish Adora, Queen Aminata. We are powerful, we are strong, and we are not going to be denied any longer. It’s not a marketing thing anymore, it’s a, ‘Hey, if you’re good, you’re good, and you deserve to be there.’”

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