50 Best Wrestlers Of The 2020s (So Far)

36. Athena

Athena ROH
AEW

Athena has undergone one of the most striking reinventions of the 2020s. 

Once known for her high-flying babyface work in WWE as Ember Moon, she's since transformed into one of the most dominant, unrelenting forces in modern wrestling thanks to her total kayfabe control over Tony Khan's Ring Of Honor. 

Since debuting in 2022, Athena has delivered some of the decade’s most compelling and violent women’s matches in North America. Her ROH Women’s World Championship reign, which began that December, quickly became a showcase of brutality, technical precision, and character mastery. She dismantles her opponents, often with a sadistic edge that make her a must-watch presence.

Tearing the house down with Willow Nightingale, Kiera Hogan, Miyu Yamashita, Mercedes Moné and loads of other opponents, her matches proved that she could elevate any opponent while maintaining her dominant persona and building Billie Starks as an apprentice in the process. What’s made Athena so vital to the 2020s is her fearless character work. She blends theatrics with real menace, often breaking the fourth wall to taunt fans mid-match while never losing her edge. Her matches are physical, theatrical, and unpredictable.

While others define success through championships alone, Athena’s mark has been carved through reinvention and consistency. She made ROH’s women’s division feel essential and dangerous, carrying the brand with unmatched presence. In a stacked half-decade for talent, Athena has quietly – and violently – become one of wrestling’s most essential performers.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett