It’s not often the defending champion comes into a match with a shorter title reign than her opponent, but that will be the case on Sunday when “Timeless” Toni Storm defends her AEW Women’s Championship against the ROH Women’s World Champion, Athena.
With Athena closing in on 1,000 days as ROH Women’s World Champion, she holds the longest reign of any champion in AEW or ROH, and therefore she might have every right to call herself “The Forever Champion.”
She added to her unparalleled run by winning the Casino Gauntlet at All In: Texas to earn a guaranteed title match whenever she wanted for the next year. Instead of relying on the element of surprise, Athena called her shot weeks ago and made it clear she’d be taking the title from Storm at Forbidden Door.
It’s been a mix of mind games and standoffs between the two, although they’ve come to blows on multiple occasions both in and out of the ring. While Athena has the backing of Billie Starkz, Storm has found a willing ally in Alex Windsor.
This past week on Dynamite, Storm and Windsor teamed up against Athena and TBS Champion Mercedes Moné in a preview of both women’s championship matches at Forbidden Door. Athena picked up the win with an O-Face on the distracted Windsor to take the momentum into Sunday’s championship showdown.
Will Toni’s reign remain timeless, or can Athena become a double champion on top of both the AEW and ROH Women’s Division? If Toni doesn’t change her London luck, Athena might make forever a reality.