Billie Starkz Outlines Road To ROH Final Battle In Hammerstein

At last year's ROH Final Battle event, Billie Starkz fell short in her quest to capture the ROH Women's World Championship. Her efforts, however, were impressive, so much so that the defending champion Athena welcomed Starkz back into her good graces and the M.I.T. (Minion In Training) program. Unfortunately for Starkz, this reconciliation between mentor and protege turned out to be temporary, as Athena gradually reverted back to mistreating and berating her, causing Starkz to walk out of M.I.T for good.

"Athena has taught me well. I've stood by MIT. I thought it was a family, but I don't think family treats each other like this," Starkz told "Casual Conversations with The Classic." "I'm beyond frustrated with the torment I've went through for the last couple of months. Lexy [Nair] is not here to help out anymore, so we'll see what unfolds at Final Battle to see what we can get through."

When asked about the final straw that led her to leave M.I.T and subsequently challenge Athena to a rematch, Starkz pointed to the December 12 episode of "ROH on HonorClub," in which Athena stole the pinfall from her to secure her spot in the International Women's Cup match at Wrestle Dynasty.

"I feel like there was multiple weeks where I took it on the chin, I took it on the chin and then the fatal four-way match made me realize something, when we did the contenders for the [Wrestle] Dynasty. I just realized that I wasn't where I wanted to be on the roster. I want to take over."

One year after their first title bout, Starkz and Athena met again in the main event of ROH Final Battle 2024, which emanated from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Athena defeated Starkz to retain her ROH Women's Championship yet again as well.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Casual Conversations With The Classic" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.