Athena and Willow Nightingale made history at ROH Death Before Dishonor, becoming the first two women to main event an ROH PPV.
Athena was victorious in the bout, forcing Willow to pass out with the crossface. After the bout, the two women embraced with Athena raising Willow's hand.
Speaking at the ROH Death Before Dishonor media scrum, Athena reflected on getting the main event.
"I'm just very thrilled right now and it's very hard for me to articulate things. I'm trying not to cry, I'm trying not to be a sad sap, but this meant the world to me. I've never gotten to main event in my entire career on a pay-per-view. When Tony approached me a couple of weeks ago about 'we're giving you the ball.' It meant so much to be given that opportunity because it felt like me and Willow earned something. Despite the fact that she gave me probably my best match in my career thus far, I still came out on top. As far as what's next, the sky is the limit. I'm looking for more women to step up in Ring of Honor. I'm looking for women in AEW to issue that challenge to the forever Ring of Honor champion. I'm open to all challengers. It's not a matter of what I do next, it's a matter of who steps up next," she said.
As a follow up, Athena was asked about the importance of two black women being in the main event spot.
"I've said it before, representation is key," she said. "When I was starting out on the independent scene, I remember being the only African American woman on every show I was on. 'You're that person, you're the African American woman on this show,' and it was just a niche thing. To see how much it's blossomed, it's not about race, it's about your ability and your talent in the ring. It's awesome. To be given that platform, not only as an African American woman, but as a woman, as a performer, and being able to deliver, that's what matters. Everyone that is looking at home, whether you're black, white, Hispanic, Asian, middle eastern, I want everyone to take this opportunity and look and say, 'I can do it. I can do anything I set my mind to.'"
Athena said she and Willow earned the main event spot and Tony Khan agreed.
Later during the scrum, Athena was asked about getting a chip on her shoulder and wanting to continue to prove that the women can main event.
"I haven't really processed it yet. There were several moments where I came backstage and I wanted to cry because I was so happy because of the first time in my career, I did have that main event and I was extremely emotional because the pressure was on, not just for me, but for the division, for the AEW women's division, to show that women's wrestling matters. Me and Willow went out there and proved it tonight. It puts a chip on my shoulder, there was already a chip there, but it's humbling that we could go out there and still entertain the fans after all the amazing athletes on Ring of Honor, to still get the crowd invested and get everyone behind what we're doing and just be able to entertain people. I'll probably go to my hotel and have a nice good happy cry about it, but I'm immensely happy about the work that we put in. We're living up to the legacy that was upheld before we got here while creating our own. Not only that, we're creating the standard for women to come whether it be AEW or ROH. We're setting that bar and showing the world what we can do," she said.
With her victory over Willow, Athena has made twelve successful ROH Women's Title defenses.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of ROH Death Before Dishonor by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the action by clicking here.
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