9 Ups & 3 Downs From ROH Final Battle 2022

2. Nobody Cared

Mercedes Martinez and Athena are two extremely capable veterans of the squared circle, yet their bout at Final Battle often played out in disinterested silence.

Sure, the College Park Center was into some of the bigger spots of the match, but large parts of this contest had fans sat on their hands. Was this due to Martinez having been off TV for three months? Was it that those fans were still adjusting to Athena's position as a villain? Was it that this bout felt thrown together with minimal build?

The truth is that the oft-tepid reaction to Martinez vs. Athena was a mixture of the above issues, with this very much feeling like it was on the card merely because Tony Khan realised he needed to put an ROH Women's Title bout at Final Battle. As such, the match ultimately felt like an afterthought despite both wrestlers busting their ass.

Having Athena emerge victorious was the predictable, logical call, and her recent character tweak certainly makes the War Goddess an intriguing proposition to head up the ROH women's ranks. Hopefully future title defences for the one-time Ember Moon are done with more build, though.