Current longest-reigning World Champion wants ‘one more match’ with Asuka outside of WWE
Athena has nothing but praise for Asuka and holds her in high regard for the influence on her wrestling career. She expressed hope that they will share the ring one final time.
In an interview with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Athena relived her wrestling rivalry with Asuka. She recalled their first meeting at Shimmer Women’s Wrestling and then clashed in the NXT ring for the Women’s Championship.
“Oh, man. Like Asuka is one of those people, that’s a forever rival for me. Like when we were back on the indies, we actually ended up wrestling at Shimmer Women’s Wrestling. That’s where we met. We had one of the hardest hitting matches I think I’ve had in my career then, and then fast forward to WWE NXT for the NXT Women’s Championship. Asuka is my yin to my yang. I really hope she’s not stepping away. I’ve actually been trying to get a hold of her because I lost a whole bunch of people’s numbers when I switched my phone and everything.”
She referenced Asuka as a living legend that audiences still remain unaware of her capabilities and wrestling impact.
“But man, talk about someone who’s just the epitome of what legendary status is or what a living legend is. I, to some extent, don’t feel like people really understand how much she’s done for wrestling as a whole. Like from grinding on the indies to being like an independent contractor in Japan to getting signed to WWE. Not only that, like just excelling in WWE in every form and facet from match to match, but never changing who she was as a person, a character. I couldn’t be more proud, more happy for her. I hate her in that same breath, of course.”
Athena expressed interest in a final match with Asuka to conclude their rivalry out of respect for her legendary career. She emphasized how important competing against Asuka was in shaping her as a performer and wrestler.
“I also feel like I have to have one more match eventually and hope that this isn’t it. This isn’t the long goodbye, if you will. But like, Asuka’s one of those people that I wouldn’t be who I am as a performer, as an athlete, if she wasn’t in my life. If she wasn’t on the opposite side of the ring. I don’t think I would have gotten anything really if I didn’t have that experience with her.”
Asuka teased retirement after her WWE Backlash match against IYO SKY after a 22-year wrestling career. On the following edition of Raw, she bid farewell to SKY in a passing of the torch moment.
On the other hand, after Athena’s WWE release in 2021 she returned to the independent circuit before debuting on AEW. In December 2022 she captured the Women’s ROH Championship and continues to hold the title with her reign surpassing the 1250 day mark.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.