Athena is publicly pushing for a full-time AEW roster spot, and she made the case in her home market days before turning up on Saturday’s Collision.
The ROH Women’s World Champion spoke to the Dallas Morning News ahead of AEW’s double taping of Dynamite and Collision at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas. The Garland native said nearly four years of carrying Ring of Honor has earned her the same run on AEW television.
“It’s finally time for me to make that forever as well,” Athena said.
“I feel like I’ve given the world to Ring of Honor. I’ve given years of my career being the ‘forever’ ROH champion. I’ve given so much to be the longest reigning champion in the modern day era, the most violent champion of the era. But when it comes to me, I want to do more with AEW.”
She named all three targets: “I want to be AEW women’s champion. I want to be AEW TBS champion. I want to be an AEW tag champion to show the world that everything that I’ve done, holding a whole company on my back, climbing to the top of the mountain with it, was all worth it.”
She backed it up on the taped Collision episode, beating Isla Dawn in an ROH Women’s World Championship Proving Ground match. Dawn needed a win or to survive the time limit to earn a future title shot, and got neither.
Athena Is Not Rushing Mercedes Moné
In a separate interview with WFAA’s Inside the Ring, Athena addressed Mercedes Moné, who submitted Willow Nightingale to win the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In: London. She said she would give her former tag partner a couple of months with the belt first.
“I feel like me and Mercedes are very respectful of each other’s careers. Former tag partner, maybe current tag partner, who knows?” Athena said. “I remember sitting at home watching her win, with a broken nose of all things, and just thinking, ‘wow, she’s an absolute star.’”
Athena has been down this road once. She won the women’s Casino Gauntlet at All In Texas in July 2025 to earn a shot, cashed it in against Toni Storm at Forbidden Door, and came up short.
The Reign Behind The Pitch
Athena won the ROH Women’s World Championship from Mercedes Martinez at Final Battle on December 10, 2022. The reign has passed 1,360 days, making her the longest-reigning champion in Ring of Honor history regardless of gender, and she cleared Roman Reigns’ 1,316-day modern-era WWE benchmark in July. Her next stated target is Hulk Hogan’s 1,474-day WWF title reign, which she expects to pass around Christmas.
Her most recent defense came against Hazuki at Death Before Dishonor, a match she later revealed she finished while fighting through an asthma attack.
Away from AEW, Athena owns and coaches at Metroplex Wrestling in Bedford, the Texas independent that helped launch Maya World. MPX runs the fourth edition of its all-women “Who Runs The World?” card in Fort Worth on Friday, September 18.
