This week’s ROH Final Battle will mark Billie Starkz’s second consecutive challenge against Athena, following her narrow defeat in last year’s main event. In an interview with SEScoops‘ Ella Jay, Starkz reflected on her growth since her previous encounter with the Forever Champion.

“Genuinely just being able to be in the AEW environment. Being around all these women and learning over the last year, I feel like I’ve grown as a competitor. I’m 10 times the monster that I was at the last Final Battle.”

Before their rivalry intensified, Athena served as a mentor to Starkz during their time in ROH. However, the champion’s mistreatment of her “minion” ultimately ended their partnership. While Starkz is determined to dethrone Athena this week, she acknowledged the champion’s influence on her career.

“She’s a great mentor. She’s one of the smartest brains in wrestling and she’s been doing this for over a decade. I feel like Athena is willing to help out women’s wrestling but in the most narcissistic way.”

Athena’s self-assuredness is not without merit. Since capturing the ROH Women’s World Title in December 2022, she has defended it 25 times against competitors such as Starkz, Marina Shafir, and Willow Nightingale. Athena not only holds the record for the longest reign as ROH Women’s Champion but also the longest reign of any ROH Champion in history, regardless of sex.

Athena Says Billie Starkz Match Will Main Event ROH Final Battle 2024

ROH Final Battle 2024 will take place on December 20, from the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from the show, and whether Starkz can do what no woman has been able to when stepping in the ring with Athena.

ROH Women’s Champion Athena believes her upcoming match with Billie Starkz is going to close the ROH Final Battle 2024 PPV from Hammerstein Ballroom.

The two female stars have been involved in a long-running feud. The upcoming event will bring their storyline to a full circle as the Forever Champion first won her title at the same PPV in 2022. She also defended the championship against Starkz at the 2023 edition of the show.

Despite Chris Jericho defending the ROH Championship against Matt Cardona at the event, many fans believe that the female competitors have earned the right to headline the night.

Athena addressed the topic in a new interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture. She claimed that her and Starkz will become the first female competitor for ROH to main event the legendary arena:

“I think we are going to be, me and minion 4,237 and 3 quarters or whatever she wants to be referred to now, I don’t really care, but we will be the first women to main event in Hammerstein as far as I know, as far as Ring Of Honor goes anyway. That could be a really cool moment, another history on the belt there.”

• Athena Makes History As Longest Reigning ROH Champion Ever

Tony Khan was also asked about the same during the Final Battle media call but the ROH owner only said that the show will have a ‘double main event.’

Apart from these two bouts, the upcoming ROH show will feature matches such as Jay Lethal vs. Q. T. Marshall, and The Sons of Texas vs. The Righteous. You can check out our predictions for the show here.

• ROH Final Battle 2024 Start Time: US, Australia, Europe and more

The long-anticipated ROH Women’s Championship rematch between Athena and Billie Starkz has finally been made official for the upcoming Final Battle PPV.

The Final Battle event holds special importance for the current champion as her historic reign began at the 2022 edition of the show. She successfully defeated her former protege Starkz in a match during the 2023 edition of the ROH PPV to retain the title.

The two have continued feuding since then with Athena surpassing Samoa Joe to become the longest reigning title holder in ROH history in September this year.  The upcoming match which was made official during the December 12 episode of ROH TV on Honor Club will bring the storyline between the two female stars to a full circle.

ROH Final Battle 2024 Updated Card

During the same episode, it was also announced that Jay Lethal will be returning to the brand at the upcoming PPV to face QT Marshall. Below is the updated card for the show:

• ROH Women’s TV Championship Match: Red Velvet (c) vs. Leyla Hirsch
• ROH World Heavyweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Matt Cardona
• ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: The Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara) (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch)
• Singles Match: Jay Lethal vs. Q. T. Marshall
• ROH Women’s Championship Match: Athena (c) vs. Billie Starkz

Final Battle 2024 will be taking place from the Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday, December 20, 2024.