Some things never get old. In the wrestling world, that rings true in many instances, especially making grand entrances as an iconic game character. Ring of Honour wrestler Athena is the latest to ride the trend, setting the arena on fire as Karlach from Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3.
For the uninitiated, Ring of Honour has traditionally been considered a titan in the scene, and is slowly picking back up after a brief shutdown in 2022. Athena previously fought as Ember Moon in WWE, and currently holds a career spanning almost two decades.
The brawler went all out with her getup, nailing the beloved barbarian’s looks — horns, signature axe, and all. Her fiery entrance has not only caught the attention of both the wresting and gaming crowd, but also Samantha Béart, who provided the voice and motion capture for the character.
“Oh wow,” reads her post on X / Twitter, which includes some heart emojis and a gif of Karlach. “Congratulations to the real-life Karlach on retaining her title!!!” Béart later gave a second shoutout: “F**K. YEAH. Thank you [Athena] for berserking Karlach from Faerun to Earth. No interplanetary boundaries can contain her rage. You just made my whole weekend.”
Larian CEO Swen Vincke also sent his congratulations her way, with Athena herself thanking the studio and Wizards of the Coast for allowing her cosplay on stage. “A massive thank you to Larian Studios and D&D for letting me be my favorite character from Baldur’s Gate 3, Karlach!” she wrote on Instagram, describing herself as a “D&D nerd”.
The best part of it, however, was when she managed to retain her title as the women’s champion with a 48-win streak. It’s very much in character, and proved to be a great way to close out the fight against Hikaru Shida.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a wrestler has stepped into the ring as a popular game character. In 2018, renowned brawler Cody Rhodes and his wife Brandi turned up as Venom Snake and The Boss, respectively, of Metal Gear fame. AEW superstar Kenny Omega, meanwhile, channelled his inner Sephiroth at Japan’s biggest wrestling event last year.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Gerald
