ROH’s Forever Champ Athena snatches AEW Women’s Title shot in wild Casino Gauntlet

Athena has done it again — and this time, she’s setting her sights on AEW gold.

In one of the most unpredictable, hard-hitting, and downright messy matches of the night, Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion Athena fought her way through the All In: Texas Casino Gauntlet to earn herself an AEW Women’s World Title shot. If there were any doubts about whether the Forever Champ could still hang with AEW’s best — consider them powerbombed out of existence.

Let’s set the scene.

It all started with Kris Statlander and Megan Bayne throwing down like they had unfinished business. The tone was set early: this wasn’t just about opportunity, it was about dominance. Third in was Willow Nightingale, who made a direct line for Stat — because if you remember, these two were once friends. Were being the key word.

Then Tay Melo entered the chaos, but the first real shocker came when Harley Cameron reappeared for the first time since May — and no, she wasn’t part of the match. This was revenge. Harley had a score to settle with Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford, who broke her nose and left her sidelined. She made that return count with fists flying, and the fans ate it up.

Things got even more chaotic when Julia Hart hit the ring. Her partner Skye Blue wasn’t officially in the match, but she clearly didn’t care. Skye got involved like she had something to prove, only to get forced into a tap-out by Mina Shirakawa. Mina seemed to think she had just won the match — and honestly, for a second, so did we. But nope. She just cleaned up one loose thread.

Athena entered next, and business officially picked up. The Forever Champ didn’t waste time — she went straight to work. Right behind her? A blockbuster debut — Syuri. Yes, that Syuri. Former World of Stardom and IWGP Women’s Champion. She made her AEW debut to a massive pop after being teased the night before at Supercard of Honor. And just as jaws were hitting the floor, another international ace made her debut: Alex Windsor, the UK standout who’s been making waves across Europe. Now she’s officially All Elite — and she came ready to scrap.

The final stretch was as wild as you’d expect. Kris Statlander took half the roster on an avalanche ride with a massive powerbomb off the top rope. The crowd exploded. Mina tried to capitalize and went for a Figure Four on Thunder Rosa (fresh off her interim ROH TV Title win), but she took too long. And you know what happens when you give Athena a window.

She flew in, nailed the O-Face, and snatched the win.

Now, Athena — still reigning as ROH Women’s World Champion — has a golden opportunity in AEW. A title shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship is now in her pocket, and if she cashes in right, we could be looking at the next double champ.

Whoever holds the AEW Women’s title next — whether that’s Toni Storm, Hikaru Shida, or someone else entirely — just got a major problem on their hands. Athena’s coming, and if history tells us anything, she’s not showing up to play nice. She’s showing up to take over.