Why ROH Women's Champion Athena Says She'll Beat Billie Starkz At Final Battle

Tomorrow night at ROH Final Battle, Athena will defend the ROH Women's World Championship against Billie Starkz in the main event. Athena has held the title since last year's Final Battle, and the champion seems very confident that her reign will continue into 2024 despite dealing with some struggles. Speaking on the "Battleground Podcast," the ROH star gave fans some insight on what they can expect from tomorrow's bout.

"My nose is broken right now," Athena said, referring to the injury the ROH Women's World Champion suffered at a recent taping. "I'm standing here going into this match not knowing what's going to happen. ... I've started looking at Billie's old stuff from Japan. I've started looking at her indie stuff, her versus Nick Wayne. ... Honestly, I think I have this in the bag. I'm not too worried. She's super talented, but she's young and dumb."

While Athena may seem overconfident heading into the match, she pointed out that she's spent a great deal of time with Starkz as her "minion-in-training." The champion said she'll stop at nothing until she wins, and she doesn't feel that her competitor has the same drive. At a certain point, Athena believes that Starkz will give up.

"Her youth is gonna kill her," Athena continued. "I've seen it in her matches in the past. ... That's where she always falls flat. The longer the match goes, the more it is in my favor."

While she's been featured in front of fewer viewers on ROH compared to AEW, Athena has built up acclaim surrounding her performances over the past year. In the same interview, the champion pointed out that she's on a winning streak of over 40 matches, and gave a special shout-out to her match against Kiera Hogan this past June.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Battleground Podcast" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.