ROH Women’s World Champion Athena has detailed her hands-on efforts to secure an All Elite Wrestling opportunity for her student, Maya World.
Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Athena reflected on discovering World on the Texas independent scene and taking her under her wing for nearly three years of dedicated training.
Mentoring Texas Talent & Pushing For AEW Opportunities
Athena recalled spotting World’s raw potential early on and bringing her into her training regimen:
“Maya was one of the first women that were in the Texas area that I avidly went after. I saw her on a show and I was like, man, there’s something there. Like, there’s something really special. The way she moved, the way she performed, she was just missing a couple beats. So, I had invited her to come train with me and she had been training with me for almost three years.”
Recognizing her student was ready for a larger stage, Athena actively lobbied AEW President Tony Khan to give World a shot on television:
“I remember just trying to get her in front of TK at one point in time. And I remember having her first match on like an AEW show. I can’t remember if it was like a Dynamite, Collision, Dark, I can’t really remember. But I remember being like, ‘Yo, TK, you got to see this girl.’”
“I was like, ‘Just give her a match with me. Let me show you what she can do.’ You know? And I mean, we had this match. She lost because I’m the trainer. And I remember they kept bringing her back. They kept bringing her back, and it just took that one step.”
Late-Night Contract Call & Recent Ring Action
World eventually capitalized on her opportunities, earning an official contract offer from AEW. Athena admitted the news brought her to tears:
“Soon enough, when the moment came, she took advantage of an opportunity and she ended up with a contract. And I remember she called me at like 2 a.m. And she called me like six times and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this must be an emergency.’”
“She’s like, ‘I did it. I did it.’ I was like, ‘Girl, it’s so loud. What are you doing? What did you do?’ And she’s like, ‘I got signed. They offered me a contract.’ And I remember, very off the record because Athena sheds no tears for no one, but I just cried because I was like, ‘Oh, thank goodness she did it. It didn’t take her 10 years like it took me.’”
Athena’s emotional recollection follows recent high-praise from World, who told the Daily Star prior to All In that training alongside Athena completely transformed her career.
On the September 5 episode of AEW Collision, Athena successfully defeated Isla Dawn in an ROH Women’s World Championship Proving Ground match in Allen, Texas. That performance comes on the heels of her major title defense against Hazuki at Death Before Dishonor at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena.
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