Athena Becomes The Longest-Reigning Champion Of The Modern Era
Athena has officially held the ROH Women’s World Championship for a record-breaking amount of time.
On December 10, 2022, at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle, Athena defeated Mercedes Martinez to win the ROH Women’s World Championship just over six months after signing with Tony Khan and AEW. While her reign has seen defenses against international stars such as Miyu Yamashita and Syuri, it was her trilogy of matches with her ‘minion’ Billie Starkz that had fans on the edge of their seats anticipating a potential title change. However, none of Athena’s challengers have been able to dethrone her, and she now stands alone with a unique achievement.
As she noted on her official X account, Athena is now officially the “longest-reigning champion of the modern era,” with her historic reign currently standing at 1,317 days.
This is significant for multiple reasons, not least because Athena has surpassed Roman Reigns as the longest-reigning champion of the modern era. “The Tribal Chief” famously held the Universal Championship from August 2020 to April 2024, adding the WWE Championship to his historic run along the way. However, it is worth noting that Reigns still holds the edge in total title defenses, with Athena trailing him by five.
In credit to “The Fallen Goddess,” the 37-year-old has been a constant presence throughout her time as ROH Women’s World Champion, regularly defending her title while also competing in Ring of Honor’s “Proving Ground” matches, making multiple appearances in Japan and Mexico, and appearing across All Elite Wrestling’s main brands. Notably, she challenged Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship last year and has competed in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament multiple times.
With the record becoming a talking point in recent weeks, many fans believed Athena would remain champion until she surpassed the previous benchmark for the longest reign. Now that she stands alone with the longest championship reign of the modern era, some will expect her to soon drop the title and transition into a full-time role on AEW’s women’s roster, although whether that happens remains to be seen.
You can find more on the latest AEW news here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Athena’s record-breaking reign as soon as we hear more.
