Athena Vs. Willow Nightingale For ROH Women's Title Planned For Death Before Dishonor

The ongoing rivalry between Athena and Willow Nightingale is far from over, with the pair set to battle once again at ROH's Death Before Dishonor on Friday, July 21. The two female standouts have traded one win apiece throughout the year, with the ROH Women's Champion successfully defending her title against Nightingale back in March. However, the recent victory for Nightingale over Athena in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament has led to AEW/ROH officials deciding a rubber match between the pair is necessary. 

According to a report from PWInsider Elite (subscription required), Athena and Nightingale will again square off at the upcoming ROH pay-per-view event for the championship, with an announcement expected in the coming days.

Nightingale triumphed over Athena on Friday night's episode of "AEW Rampage" in a semi-final bout for the Owen Hart Tournament, handing the current ROH champ her first one-on-one singles pinfall loss since All Out 2022, before lifting the trophy on "AEW Collision" after defeating former tag team partner Ruby Soho in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout her dominant 219-day reign as ROH Women's World Champion, Athena has laid waste to all her competition, highlighted by victories over Mercedes Martinez, Skye Blue, and Kiera Hogan, thereby cementing herself as the face of the promotion's women's division.

As of writing, the only other matches planned for ROH Death Before Dishonor will see Samoa Joe take on the winner of the upcoming bout between Dalton Castle and Shane Taylor, which will be aired just 24 hours prior to the event, while Katsuyori Shibata will defend his ROH Pure Championship against Daniel Garcia.