Athena (wrestler) facts for kids

Adrienne Palmer, born on August 31, 1988, is an American professional wrestler. She is known by her wrestling name, Athena, and works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). She mainly wrestles in Ring of Honor (ROH), which is connected to AEW. Athena is the leader of a wrestling group called M.I.T. She is also the current ROH Women's World Champion. She has held this title for over 950 days, making her the longest-reigning champion in ROH history. Athena also wrestles for other independent wrestling companies.

Before joining AEW, she was known as Ember Moon in WWE. There, she won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship and the NXT Women's Championship. Before WWE, she wrestled as Athena for companies like Shimmer Women Athletes and Women Superstars Uncensored.

Quick facts for kids Athena
Reese as Ember Moon in 2017
Birth name	Adrienne Reese
Born	(1988-08-31) August 31, 1988 (age 36) Garland, Texas, U.S.
Spouse(s)	Matthew Palmer ​ (m. 2018)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Adrienne Adrienne Reese Athena Athena Reese Ember Moon
Billed height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Billed weight	120 lb (54 kg)
Billed from	Dallas, Texas Chicago, Illinois St. Louis, Missouri
Trained by	Skandor Akbar Action Jackson Lance Archer Monty Brown Booker T Rodney Mack & Jazz
Debut	2007

Early Life

Adrienne Reese was born in Garland, Texas, on August 31, 1988. She went to Lakeview Centennial High School. There, she played tennis and softball. She also joined the chess club and a math team. During high school, Adrienne was sometimes bullied by other students. This was because she liked video games and wrestling.

Professional Wrestling Journey

Starting Out (2007–2015)

Adrienne first learned about professional wrestling from her grandfather. She began training in April 2007 with a trainer named Skandor Akbar. Later, she trained at Booker T's wrestling school in Houston, Texas. She started wrestling in 2007, first as "Trouble," and then as "Athena."

Athena wrestled for many companies in Texas. She was very successful at Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW) in Austin. There, she won the ACW American Joshi Championship three times. She also won the ACW Television Championship once. From 2010 to 2015, she also wrestled for all-female wrestling companies. These included Shimmer Women Athletes and Women Superstars Uncensored.

Time in Ring of Honor (2013–2015)

Between 2013 and 2015, Athena also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH). She was part of a group called Team RnB. During this time, she had matches against other wrestlers in the Women of Honor division. She wrestled against people like MsChif, Barbi Hayden, and Cherry Bomb. She left ROH quietly in 2015.

Joining WWE (2015–2021)

NXT Career (2015–2018)

Reese as the NXT Women's Champion in April 2018

In September 2015, Adrienne signed a contract with WWE. She was sent to their training brand, NXT. She wrestled as Adrienne Reese until June 2016. Then, her name was changed to Ember Moon. After some special videos introducing her, Moon made her TV debut. This was at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, where she defeated Billie Kay.

Ember Moon had a winning streak for several months. She won both tag team and single matches. Her streak ended when she lost to the NXT Women's Champion Asuka in April. In May, Moon got a shoulder injury during a match with Asuka.

After she returned in June, she faced Asuka again for the championship. This was at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, but she lost again. In August, Asuka had to give up the NXT Women's Championship because of an injury. On November 18, Moon won the vacant NXT Women's Championship. She won a four-person match against Royce, Nikki Cross, and Kairi Sane. As champion, Moon held the title for 140 days. She had a rivalry with Shayna Baszler. Moon kept her title against Baszler at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. However, she lost it to Baszler at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.

Main Roster Appearances (2018–2020)

Moon first appeared on WWE's main shows at the 2018 Royal Rumble. She was in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match. After losing her NXT Women's Title, she moved to Raw. Her first match on Raw was after WrestleMania 34. She teamed with Nia Jax and won against Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. At Money in the Bank, she competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match. She tried to win a special briefcase, but she did not succeed. At WWE Evolution, she was in a battle royal. She was the last person eliminated by Nia Jax.

At the 2019 Royal Rumble event, Moon was in the women's Royal Rumble match again. She entered at number six and stayed in the match for 52 minutes. She was eliminated by Alexa Bliss. During this match, she hurt her elbow. This injury needed surgery, which kept her from wrestling for a while. She returned at WrestleMania 35 in the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal. She was eliminated from that match by Lana.

During the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Moon moved to the SmackDown brand. In June, she was in her second Money in the Bank ladder match but did not win. In June and July, Moon had a rivalry with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. They were bullying her. After losing single matches to both Deville and Rose, Moon teamed up with SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley. They defeated Rose and Deville, ending the rivalry. After that match, Bayley chose Moon to challenge her for the title at SummerSlam. However, Moon lost the match. She then started losing many matches in a row. Moon then suffered an ankle injury. She was not included in the 2019 WWE Draft in October. She appeared on a wrestling show in November as an analyst. She said she would be out of action for a long time.

Back to NXT (2020–2021)

In 2020, after being away for months, Moon returned to NXT. She showed a new wrestling personality. In September 2020, videos appeared on NXT showing a mysterious person on a motorcycle. At NXT TakeOver 31, the mystery person took off her helmet. It was Ember Moon.

She formed a tag team with Shotzi Blackheart. They competed in the first-ever women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament. They lost in the finals to Dakota Kai and Raquel González. Moon and Blackheart won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship on March 10, 2021. They defeated Kai and González for the titles. They kept their titles at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver against The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell). However, they lost the titles to them in a special "Street Fight" match in May. Their championship reign lasted 55 days. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, Moon challenged Raquel González for the NXT Women's Championship. She was defeated. On November 4, Moon was released from WWE. This ended her six years with the company.

Back to Independent Wrestling (2022–Present)

Adrienne Reese, now using her old wrestling name Athena, challenged Thunder Rosa for the Warrior Wrestling Women's Championship in February 2022. In that match, Rosa kept her title after the match ended in a 30-minute draw.

In June 2025, Athena announced she would host an all-women's wrestling event. It is called Who Runs The World? and will happen on August 9.

All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor (2022–Present)

Athena made her debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on May 29, 2022. This was at the Double or Nothing event. She appeared to help Anna Jay and Kris Statlander after Jade Cargill's match. On the June 3 episode of Rampage, Athena had her first AEW match. She defeated Kiera Hogan, who was part of Cargill's group. Athena was undefeated in single matches for several months. She began a rivalry with Cargill. She challenged Cargill for the TBS Championship at All Out, but she did not win. In September 2022, at Grand Slam, Athena challenged the interim Women's World Champion Toni Storm. This was a four-person match that also included Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Serena Deeb. Storm kept her title.

On the November 18, 2022, episode of Rampage, Athena defeated Madison Rayne. After the match, Athena attacked the referee, Aubrey Edwards. This showed she was changing her wrestling personality to a "bad guy." Then, Mercedes Martinez returned and saved the referee. Since AEW's owner, Tony Khan, also owns Ring of Honor (ROH), Athena faced Martinez at ROH's Final Battle event. This happened on December 10, 2022. Athena won the ROH Women's World Championship. Athena's first successful title defense was against Vertvixen in December 2022.

With the return of Honor Club shows, Athena kept her title against Willow Nightingale in March 2023. Athena became known for attacking her opponents after defeating them. This became a regular thing she did. After her sixth successful title defense against Emi Sakura in March 2023, Athena attacked Sakura. Yuka Sakazaki saved Sakura. Athena had lost to Sakazaki in a tag team match earlier. This led to Athena defending her title against Sakazaki at Supercard of Honor in March 2023. Athena won and kept her title.

In June 2023, at Forbidden Door, Athena competed in the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament. She defeated Billie Starkz in the quarterfinals. In July 2023, Athena lost in the semifinals to Willow Nightingale. In July 2023, at Death Before Dishonor, Athena successfully defended her title against Nightingale. This match was the main event, making it the first women's match to headline a ROH pay-per-view.

In late 2023, Athena became a mentor to Billie Starkz and Lexy Nair. Starkz and Nair became her "minions," forming the group called "M.I.T.". In November 2023, Athena and Starkz lost a match to Ronda Rousey and Marina Shafir. In the next episode of ROH Wrestling, Starkz defeated Shafir in a single match. Starkz then attacked Shafir after the match. Athena and Nair came out and pretended to announce that Starkz had finished "minion training." Athena then said that only Nair was the best student. Starkz got upset and attacked Athena. Starkz then asked Tony Khan for a championship match against Athena, and Khan agreed. The match happened at Final Battle. Athena defeated Starkz to keep her ROH Women's World Championship.

In March 2024, Athena offered a title match challenge at Supercard of Honor. She said she needed someone outside the ROH roster to push her limits. A new wrestler, Hikaru Shida, accepted the challenge. At the event in April 2024, Athena defeated Shida to keep her title. In April 2024, Athena successfully defended her title against Red Velvet. In June 2024, Athena announced she had torn her ankle ligaments. She said she would be out for four to six months. However, she stated she would not give up her ROH Women's World Championship while she recovered. This was later shown to be a trick. In July 2024, Athena successfully defended her title against Queen Aminata. In September 2024, Athena became the longest-reigning ROH title holder. She passed Samoa Joe's record as ROH World Champion. In December 2024, Athena successfully defended her title against Starkz again. In December 2024, Athena kicked Nair out of M.I.T. because Nair almost caused her to lose her title.

In February 2025, Athena reached a new milestone. She passed 800 days as Ring of Honor Women's World Champion. Athena returned to AEW shows in March 2025. She confronted the current TBS Champion, Mercedes Moné. Later, Athena announced she would enter the women's Owen Hart Cup tournament. The winner of this tournament gets a chance to challenge for the AEW Women's World Championship. During the tournament, Athena defeated Harley Cameron in April 2025. However, she was eliminated in the semifinals by Moné in April 2025. In May 2025, Athena reached another milestone. She passed 900 days as ROH Women's World Champion. In July 2025, at All In, Athena won the women's Casino Gauntlet match. This win earned her a chance to challenge for the AEW Women's World Championship whenever she wants.

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2025–Present)

Athena made her debut for World Wonder Ring Stardom in Japan in January 2025. She teamed with Thekla to defeat Mina Shirakawa and Tay Melo. Two nights later, Athena represented Ring of Honor in a special four-person match. She did not win after Thekla interfered. In January 2025, Athena successfully defended her ROH Women's World Championship against Thekla.

Personal Life

Adrienne Reese is married to Matthew Palmer, who is also a professional wrestler. She enjoys reading comic books. She is also a fan of the 1960s Batman TV show starring Adam West. Reese has said that wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Rikishi, Trish Stratus, and Lita have inspired her.

Championships and Achievements

• All Elite Wrestling
  • Casino Gauntlet match (2025)
• Anarchy Championship / Absolute Intense Wrestling
  • AIW Women's Championship (2 times)
  • ACW American Joshi Championship (3 times)
  • ACW Televised Championship (1 time)
  • ACW Queen of Queens Tournament (2012)
• Pro Wrestling Alliance
  • PWA Women's Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Ranked No. 18 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2017
  • Ranked No. 6 of the top 250 women's wrestlers in the PWI Women's 250 in 2023
• Women Superstars Uncensored / Combat Zone Wrestling
  • Queen and King of the Ring (2013) – with A. R. Fox
• Ring of Honor
  • ROH Women's World Championship (1 time, current)
• WWE
  • NXT Women's Championship (1 time)
  • NXT Women's Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shotzi Blackheart
• Warrior Wrestling
  • Warrior Wrestling Women's Championship (1 time)

See also

In Spanish: Athena (luchadora) para niños