The ‘Forever Champion’ Athena Brings Record-Setting ROH Title Reign Back Home to North Texas

Athena built the foundation of her professional wrestling career close to home. Two decades after she began training, the Garland native returns to North Texas as the longest-reigning champion in Ring of Honor history.

First, however, All Elite Wrestling star Athena wanted to introduce herself.

“I am the Minion Overlord, the Fallen Goddess, the American Joshi, the most dominant champion in all of wrestling history,” Athena said. “I am the longest-reigning champion in ROH history and of the modern-day era. I am Athena.”

The fiery introduction is bold, but the history behind it is real.

After making her Ring of Honor debut in 2013, Athena spent years wrestling across several promotions before signing with All Elite Wrestling in 2022. On Dec. 10 of that year, she defeated Mercedes Martinez at ROH Final Battle to become the ROH Women’s World Champion.

1,361 days later, she has not lost the title.

Now, nearly four years into her record-breaking reign, Athena remains tied to the North Texas area where it all started for her. While her success has allowed her to travel the world, she spent time away before eventually returning home to the Metroplex.

“I live in the Metroplex. I love the Metroplex,” Athena said. “Coming back to Dallas was just a no-brainer. This is home for me. The hometown fans, the hometown crowd and the food, mostly the food, sir, I couldn’t leave that behind for much longer.”

It was also in the Metroplex where Athena began building her career.

Long before wrestling in large venues like Globe Life Field, Athena recalled wrestling inside a storage building in Mesquite. Last year, she won the Women’s Casino Gauntlet at AEW All In: Texas in Arlington, delivering one of the biggest moments of her career in front of a local crowd.

“It’s really cool having humble beginnings, starting off wrestling in a public storage building in Mesquite, Texas and coming all the way up to winning a big match at Globe Life Field,” Athena said.

The storied history of Texas wrestling runs deep in Athena’s career.

Growing up, Athena learned about the wrestlers who came through Texas and what took place during the days of the Dallas Sportatorium. One performer who stood out to Athena was Jacqueline.

Athena idolized the Dallas native as a performer before eventually getting to know her and train with her. Both also trained under the late Skandor Akbar, further solidifying Athena’s connection to Texas wrestling.

“I’m very fortunate to have the lineage of Texas wrestling,” Athena said. “I feel like everyone from Texas, going back to the Sportatorium days, knows about the legacy of professional wrestling here and understands that it’s something we not only have to uphold, but continue pushing forward day in and day out.”

Athena has upheld that tradition while etching her own name into Ring of Honor history.

Her ROH Women’s World Championship reign is the longest title reign in company history. Remaining champion for so long is no easy task. For Athena, it means constantly changing her game to adapt to new opponents.

“I feel like the hardest thing is always, there’s always someone new popping up,” Athena said. “There’s always a new face that I don’t know, a new skill set that an opponent has.”

Of course, Athena added, the second challenge is convincing everyone else of what she already knows.

“I’m the Forever ROH Champion, and people don’t really comprehend what forever means for some reason,” Athena said. “They don’t understand the grasp of what forever means: eternal, infinite. I don’t know how many synonyms I have to bring to the table.”

As Athena’s reign continues, she has watched other women’s champions come and go.

“I watched the rise of Mercedes Moné, I watched the fall of Mercedes Moné and then I watched her rise again,” Athena said. “But yet I am a one-time ROH Champion forever. Forever. I won it once. I don’t have to lose it because I still got it, baby.”

Athena added that her reign has also affected how she is perceived by fans. Her ruthless tendencies can rub fans the wrong way.

“My fans are constantly turning against me,” Athena said. “I don’t get why. Just because I kicked someone’s head in after a match doesn’t mean I’m a bad guy. It just means I have to double-tap the situation like a zombie movie. You just don’t want it coming back to bite you later.”

Performing in Texas also adds extra weight to her matches.

She said having her parents, friends and former opponents in the crowd always gives her butterflies. No matter how long she wrestles, performing in front of them gives those matches a homecoming feel.

“Every time I perform, I get goosebumps,” Athena said. “My trainer once told me, ‘When you stop getting nervous before a match, you need to just throw the boots in, and you’re done.’”

At home, those butterflies are accompanied by another sense of expectation.

“If I lose in the state of Texas, we got more problems to talk about because I got to answer to the whole state when I go home,” Athena said. “The pressure is on more than the nerves are there, but the nerves have never left.”

Athena’s training has had an impact on wrestlers in the area beyond her own matches.

She is a co-owner and trainer at Metroplex Wrestling in Bedford, teaching wrestlers at various stages of their careers. She also passes that knowledge on in Ring of Honor through her stable, The Minions. Billie Starkz and Diamante are part of the group as M.I.T., or Minions in Training, under the self-proclaimed Minion Overlord.

Former TBS Champion Maya World also trained under Athena before earning a victory over her in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament this past June.

World later defeated Hikaru Shida to win the TBS Championship and brought the title with her to All In: London at Wembley Stadium. There, her run as champion ended when she was defeated by Persephone following interference from a masked Britt Baker.

Athena, who still believes World’s victory over her was a fluke, wasn’t impressed.

“She shunned me on international television,” Athena said. “She had a fluke victory over me, and then she went on to do the thing I was supposed to do, win the TBS Championship.”

Had World not thought herself above Athena’s help, the Forever Champion joked she may have avoided defeat.

“She thought she was grown, and karma came and got her,” Athena said. “I could’ve been there to help her, but she didn’t want my help.”

The drama that plays out between them on screen is paired with real pride Athena has in seeing wrestlers she has trained progress.

Each student is different, and Athena adapts to their individual personality, learning style and ability. One lesson she wants them to always remember is simple.

“The main thing I want them to take away from just the entire training process is this is supposed to be fun,” Athena said.

Athena knows how easily the demands of professional wrestling can overshadow that. Wrestlers drive to the next town, hop on planes and do it all over again, sometimes three, four or five days a week.

Athena hopes those she trains remember what those sacrifices allow them to experience.

“We get to travel the world. We get to meet new people,” Athena said. “We get to interact with people I never would’ve thought in a billion years I would’ve gotten to interact with. Some are my idols, some are my opponents, some are dream opponents.”

Coaching and competing bring different rewards for Athena.

She enjoys watching students struggle to learn a new skill before eventually putting everything together. In the ring, a great opponent presents a different challenge.

“It’s always a new puzzle piece,” Athena said. “It’s always a new equation that I have to solve.”

Those moments have added another layer to what Athena wants her career to represent.

Growing up, Athena remembers being shoved into lockers and bullied. She wanted to become someone who spoke for herself, acted on her own terms and refused to let others determine who she should be.

Now, Athena wants to show the next generation what that can look like.

“I want people to just look back and be like, ‘Wow, she really did everything she set out to do,’” Athena said. “Little kid me would just sit there and be like, ‘You’re doing it. You’re doing everything. You’re standing up for yourself. You’re talking that talk. You’re walking that walk, and you’re successful while doing it.’”

She’s coming back to North Texas with another opportunity to show how far she has come.

All Elite Wrestling will hold Dynamite and Collision at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen on Wednesday. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. CT, with Dynamite airing live at 7 p.m. CT on TBS and streaming on HBO Max, followed by a taping of Collision. Tickets can be purchased at AEWTix.com.

“I feel like the best part about AEW is that you’re going to get to see some of the most amazing athletes in the world do what they do best in a four-sided circle,” Athena said. “It’s going to be absolutely phenomenal, stacked with action, and of course, yours truly, the Forever ROH Champion will be in the house.”

Athena will also turn her attention to Metroplex Wrestling’s Who Runs the World 4 on Friday, Sept. 18, at the Southwest Community Center in Fort Worth. The all-women’s event will feature talent from across the globe, including Nyla Rose and Charity King squaring off inside a steel cage. Tickets can be purchased at MPXWrestling.com.

“If you love the action you see at AEW, I know you’re going to love all of my gals,” Athena said.

Fans can follow Athena’s historic title reign each week on ROH on HonorClub, with new episodes premiering Thursdays. She also appears across AEW programming, including Dynamite and Collision.

While Athena continues adding to a championship reign that has already rewritten the ROH record book, her focus stretches beyond how long she can keep the title.

“I want to give back for the next generation,” Athena said, “while also kicking ass as the living legend that I am.”