August 20th, 2016. The time when we’re in the middle of “the greatest summer ever” according to Zoomers like myself until you find out that from May 1 to Sept. 12 of that year, nearly 15,000 daily records for warmest lows were set in the United States alone, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. Great!
It was also the year that the second NXT: Takeover Brooklyn show took place and ya boy was as hyped as seeing Ricardo Calafiori’s goal against Man City a few months ago. It was *a chef’s kiss*.
What makes the show a chef’s kiss is the entire card itself and the highlights. Asuka vs Bayley, PEAK Tye Dillinger hype, remember TM61?, Authors of Pain, another DIY vs Revival classic, BOBBY ROODEUH, Shinsuke Nakamura winning a major title (laughable statement in 2024).
One of the highlights was the debut of Ember Moon. The music from It Lives, It Breathes, the fantasy aesthetic with hood on looking like my rogue playthrough character in Dragon Age: Veil-guard.
That entrance as well as her finisher made me appreciate her right away as someone who hasn’t watched her previous work in the indies. She just had that “cool” factor that grabbed me instantaneously.
Her success in NXT (having banger matches, especially with Asuka and being an NXT women’s champion) didn’t translate well in the main roster because it’s the norm of 2010s WWE.
Even after her WWE release and joining all elite wrestling, she struggled a bit particularly in the promo side of things (one hundo pee anyone?) Fortunately, AEW played to her strengths which is delivering great match after great match after great match after great match.
And winning the ROH women’s championship just solidified her stance as the women’s champion right now. Let me highlight one example
Her story with Billie Starkz is one of the most compelling stories because it’s a mentor and mentoree who are both trying to prove themselves. It’s a textbook case of why simplicity (in the case of telling a story) thrives in professional wrestling.
Their match at the ROH final battle? My fallen goddess, what a match!
There are many reasons why this match slaps harder than a Gunther chop. Athena vs Billie Starkz was a storytelling, thrilling and physical encounter which told the continued narrative between the two. The bout focused on a professional rivalry which created a fierce base of betrayal, power, and passion. It featured powerful back-and-forth jabs, intense strikes and a truly breathtaking tempo, making a viewer feel the risk at any given moment. Raw emotions from the performers made the match intense. To be honest, I was rooting for Billie Starkz, especially as someone who, like Starkz, is the young hungry mentoree trying to prove myself day in and day out. Athena and Billie Starkz did a phenomenal job of building off each other and turning in fantastic shifts of moments that’ll remember fondly as a wrasslin fan.
The writing of the women’s division in WWE (main roster speaking) hasn’t been their strong suit for quite some time so I’m glad that an alternative; an entity like AEW shows how you can book a solid women’s division despite their history of not booking the women’s division right.
And Athena being the ROH women’s champion for 50 days played a huge role in that.
