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PWInsider.com recently had the chance to talk with the longest-reigning Ring of Honor Champion in the promotion's history, Athena, on the red carpet at the Queen of the Ring premiere in NYC.
Athena made history by becoming the longest-reigning champion in ROH history, surpassing even the legendary Samoa Joe’s World Championship reign—a feat she never even anticipated achieving.
"I remember sitting at home, and I try not to let things like that get to me. And I remember sitting at home, because we had pre-taped everything, and I go, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to beat Samoa Joe’s record.’"
The significance of that moment was not lost on her.
"Samoa Joe is someone I've idolized since I was on the indies—someone that we all look up to and aspire to be as wrestlers, especially with longevity and history-making performances. To be considered in the same breath as Samoa Joe when it comes to making history, it was very awesome."
She also admitted that when the reality of the milestone hit, she allowed herself a brief celebration.
"I think I had a shot of tequila, and me and my husband were like, ‘Wow, I really did something special.’ I really set a foundation for something, and it's really cool."
Even with such a prestigious accomplishment under her belt, Athena remains hungry for the next challenge. She felt the same way after she and Willow Nightingale became the first women to main event a Ring of Honor pay-per-view event..
"We revel in that moment for a second, but then it’s like, what’s next? What’s the next thing we can do? I felt the same way when I main-evented the first-ever pay-per-view in Ring of Honor as a woman with Willow Nightingale. I was like, ‘What’s next? What can we do more?’"
Athena was particularly moved by Queen of the Ring’s spotlight on Babs Wingo and her sisters, who were instrumental in paving the way for wrestlers of color yet were largely forgotten in mainstream history.
"They built a foundation. I think their story has been very untold. If you know, you know, butI don’t think anything’s been told this in-depth. The general public—ah, wrestling fans! It’s a niche wrestling fan thing, right? If you're super into women’s wrestling, you probably are like, ‘Oh my God, let me do all the digging, let me go back, let me see the black and white footage.’"
Athena recalled her own experience discovering past women’s wrestling greats.
"I remember when I first started wrestling, one of my favorite matches was the Glamour Girls versus the Jumping Bomb Angels from WWF's Royal Rumble ‘88, and I remember being like, ‘What?! Women were cooking like this in 1988, the year that I was born?!’"
She also cited Aja Kong, Manami Toyota, and Akira Hokuto as inspirations, noting that the deep history of women’s wrestling extends even further back than most casual wrestling fans truly realize.
"It’s amazing to see what the women did then, to Aja Kong, to Manami Toyota, to women all around the world, like Akio Hamada, like so many women around the world. And then just knowing that it went even further back than that—crazy."
This past year, Athena finally got to check off another accolade on her resume, finally getting to perform in Japan for the first time.
"I loved it. I didn’t want to come back. No, Minion5508 said I had to come back. You gotta listen. Yeah, I gotta listen. But I had so much fun. It was a dream come true. I have to go back. I got to work with a lot of phenomenal women, especially Team H.A.T.E...and I hate to hate Team H.A.T.E. I was very exciting and I was very honored that STARDOM let me come and do a small tour there. I’m so thankful."
For Athena, the goal isn’t just about holding personal milestones. it’s about doing her own personal part to continually pushing women’s wrestling forward.
"I’m always trying to figure out what is the next thing we can do. What’s gonna be the next biggest thing that’s gonna get people talking, get people energized about pro wrestling and what I do."
Athena can be seen weekly on ROH programming on WatchROH.com.
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