When Ember Moon was released by WWE/NXT in November of 2021, many a fan expected to see her arrive in AEW as soon as her non-compete clause came to an end.

That didn't happen.

No, instead, Moon became Athena, the “Fallen Goddess” who once took the Indies by storm before taking her talents to The Fed in 2015. She embraced the challenge of testing her mettle against some of the best talents the world of professional wrestling had to offer and even earned a championship in the process.

Athena left Ember Moon in the past on her way to AEW.

It all started at Warrior Wrestling 19, where Athena made her independent wrestling re-debut and took current AEW World Champion, Thunder Rosa, to a 30-minute draw in a bout for the promotion's woman's title. Though Athena didn't end up on the more financially lucrative side of the one-two-three, and then lost to Rosa again in a three-way push for the title that also featured future co-worker Skye Blue, Athena rapidly became one of the focal points of independent wrestling as a whole, with fans clamoring to see who and where she would perform next.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait particularly long to see that happen, as, after a short hiatus during the month of February, Athena took the show on the road from March on, with big appearances at the WrestleCon's Mark Hitchcock Memorial Super Show, at MPX vs. The World, at Prestige's Make Your Own History, and at Relolver's Swerve's House Pay Per View, where she did the job versus her former fellow NXT mainstay, Swerve Strickland.

Athena then followed things up with arguably the most important match of her independent career to date, as she took on Shazza McKenzie and Skye Blue at Warrior 21 for then then-vacant woman's title. Athena pulled out the W in a very good 17-minute match and then defended the title one month later, where she took care of Janai Kai in just over 15 minutes.

Assuming Athena maintains her current workload as the Warrior champion and doesn't relinquish the belt like other AEW signees like Brian Pillman Jr., fans could be treated to a few more dream matches before her run in the promotion is done, with potential bouts against Deonna Purrazzo, Kylie Rae, Jordynne Grace, and maybe even Tasha Steelz very much in play.

Speaking of Steelz, her former Fire ‘N Flava tag partner, Kiera Hogan, was Athena's first opponent in AEW following a very well-received debut at Double or Nothing, and the 33-yer-old Garland, Texas native put on a very good showing in front of a sold-out crowd plus her eventual program opponent, Jade Cargeal, who watched the match ringside. Athena delivered some strong blows, hit Hogan with a very impressive missile dropkick, and ultimately secured the win in a little over eight minutes with a diving corkscrew stunner that she calls “The Eclipse.”

After watching the AEW women's division be dominated by heel champions like Cardeal and Brit Baker for what feels like forever, it's nice to see a legitimately talent babyface become All-Elite in the hopes of shaking up the TBS Championship picture.

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AEW is at its best when both the heels and babyfaces are strong. Sure, having a long-term run where a champion can blow through challenger after challenger can be fun, but nothing beats a good old-fashioned rivalry between similarly positioned stars. Fortunately, Jade Cargill now has that in Athena, and after winning gold at Warrior, she has a chance to take a major championship for the first time since her name was Ember Moon, and she wrestled for Vince McMahon.