Athena Is ‘A Teeny Jealous’ Willow Nightingale Wrestles In Japan, Promises To Beat The Brakes Off Her

Athena discusses her upcoming bout against Willow Nightingale.

On the July 8 episode of AEW Collision, Athena will take on Willow Nightingale in a Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Semi-Final match. This will be the second singles bout between the two women this year, as they faced off on an episode of ROH TV back in March.

In a new interview with Fightful’s Grapsody podcast, Athena was asked about Nightingale getting to wrestle in Japan and how ‘The Babe With Power’ is currently the NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion.

“On some level, I’m a teeny bit jealous. Willow has accomplished a lot. I’ve always wanted to go and wrestle for Stardom. I’ve wanted to go to Japan. That’s what I was known as on the Independents before I got signed to WWE, The American Joshi. It’s always been a dream of mine to wrestle in Japan. The fact that I get to wrestle so many of these phenomenal athletes coming from Japan to America is amazing because when I ship them back in broken pieces, it only says, ‘we don’t want to bring Athena over here, so we’re going to bring Willow.’ All jokes aside, I am very jealous of the opportunities that Willow has gotten because I’ve been so adamant about trying to get to Japan and trying to compete on that level. I want to test my skills out in Japan too. I know that the girls they are sending over here are great. I want to see the ones that haven’t left yet because I know they are phenomenal. The Giulias, I want to wrestle KAIRI, Mayu (Iwatani), there is a list of them and most of them are in STARDOM. So, get your girl over there. I’m not taking away from Willow’s accomplishments. Yes, she has made history, but I’m going to make better history. I’m jealous of those opportunities, I want those opportunities. I want to be more, and I’m going to get my more. As soon as I make an example out of her and show that it doesn’t matter what championship you have, you’re still not as good as the Ring of Honor Champion.”

Athena went on to note that she plans to beat the brakes off of Nightingale on Saturday’s Collision, saying that she’s going to win the Owen Hart Cup Tournament.

“I’m just going to go out there and beat the brakes off this broad. We’re showcasing Athena. Athena is coming in to win this Owen Hart Tournament. I get to be on Collision for the very first time. I’m super pumped, super exciting, being a fan of Owen Hart, watching a lot of film of the Blue Blazer, watching a ton of that film when I first started, trying to even do a quarter of what this man could do in the ring was a massive accomplishment. To be in a tournament where it’s about the wrestling, it’s about the art of what we do to make this legacy live on through us, through our wrestling, is a cool opportunity. Your forever Ring of Honor Champion is not going to let Ms.Happy Rainbow Sunshine Kisses Puppy Dogs and Sugar come and take that opportunity away. I already beat the brakes off this girl one time. How do you think this is going?”

Athena finished off by saying that she is trying to show fans of Collision what they are missing out on in Ring Of Honor.

“I am on a mission to show the world what they are missing out on, and I’m in the middle of that right now. Why would I let someone like Willow Nightingale take that opportunity away from me when I not only earned it, I’ve been proving to the world, whether you’ve seen it or not, hashtag Watch ROH, come see me beat the brakes off every hussy in this. Willow doesn’t stand a chance. I don’t care what she’s said or what she’s accomplished. I’ll give her five seconds of applause [claps for five seconds]. At the end of the day, I’m moving on to the finals.”

Fightful will have full coverage of AEW Collision on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. EST.

Fans can see Fightful’s full interview with Athena linked above.