Athena, formerly known as Ember Moon in WWE recently got the wrestling world talking when she spoke with Chris Van Vliet and recalled some details regarding meetings that were held in NXT where fashion was discussed.
“We would have to sit through stupid meetings about how we’d have to dress sexy. I remember looking at someone else (and laughing). I cater to children. I’m not about to wear fishnet booty buttcheek shorts because we had a two-hour meeting about how to dress like Mandy Rose. That’s not fair. Mandy is absolutely phenomenal and an amazing person, but not everyone is Mandy Rose. I started seeing this downslope as soon as Hunter was gone. For the first bit, we didn’t know why, we just knew he wasn’t there. I got so angry. I was sitting there thinking, ‘I did nothing wrong. I didn’t piss off Vince.’ They take Shotzi away, Hunter is gone. ‘You guys promised me this wouldn’t happen. You promised I wouldn’t be lost in the shuffle. I went on this losing streak to help you guys out and build other talent so I could get a reward.'”
Fightful Select reports that they learned these meetings were held under the guise of “fashion consulting” and “fashion aid” with the purpose being to play up that women on the NXT brand were larger than life. The meetings were reportedly conducted by a fashion expert named Melanie Price back in October of 2021.
One person in NXT noted that the meetings were a stark contrast as prior to that talents were encouraged to just wear their gear or a merch shirt. Several members of the roster expressed displeasure over the meetings with some pointing out how they started taking place when John Laurinaitis regained power. Even though some have blamed Laurinaitis it has not been confirmed that he had anything to do with the meetings.
A talent in NXT also noted that they were encouraged to dress similarly backstage, and although it wasn’t said directly the idea of “dressing sexier” was implied.
