Athena To Defend ROH Women's World Title In Stipulation Match At Supercard Of Honor

By Eric Mutter
Athena in Japan Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

For over three years, Athena has had a strangle hold on the Ring of Honor Women's Championship, setting records for longest reign and most title defenses of any Ring of Honor Championship, while also defeating a who's who of challengers along the way. As such, it makes it difficult to see who Athena could defend the title against next month, when Supercard of Honor takes place on May 16 out of Salisbury, Maryland.

That might be why AEW/ROH owner Tony Khan has decided to stack the deck to some degree against the "Forever Champion." During ROH's TV tapings held in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday, Khan announced that Athena would be defending her championship in a Survival of the Fittest match at Supercard of Honor. A six way elimination match, this would be the first time the ROH Women's Championship was defended in Survival of the Fittest, and the first match announced for Supercard of Honor thus far.

Later in the tapings, ROH determined who Athena would be defending against with five qualifying matches taking place. According to results, the other five women challenging Athena will be Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki, Billie Starkz, and CMLL World Women's Champion Persephone, who defeated Robyn Renegade, Hyan, Viva Van, Lacey Lane, and Isla Dawn to earn their spots.

Of the five challengers, Adora is the only one who hasn't challenged Athena for the ROH Women's Title during Athena's reign, though she did face Athena in a Proving Ground match back in 2023. World and Persephone are among Athena's most recent defenses, with Athena defeat World on the March 26 episode of "ROH on Honor Club," and Persephone at Final Battle 2025. The match will also see Athena collide once again with long-time ally/frenemy Starkz, who has two unsuccessful challenges against Athena at Final Battle 2023 and 2024 respectfully.

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