AEW star Willow Nightingale recently spoke with Fightful to hype up tomorrow’s ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view in New Jersey, where Willow will be challenging Athena for the ROH Women’s Championship. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On this being the rubber match between herself and Athena:
That is something that is not 100% determined. We would really love if that were the case. This would be our third time facing off. It’s a rubber match, the title is on the line. At this point, I’m probably the person who has challenged for the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship more than anyone. On a personal note, Athena is somebody I’ve admired for years and years, throughout my entire career. To be able to work with her is an honor in that capacity. From a professional standpoint, she’s very the opposite of me in terms of her personality. Regardless of our feelings for one another, we both know that we’re hard-hitting and can bring a good fight for the fans to see and enjoy.
What her mindset is going into the match:
It’s similar to Owen Hart finals when I faced Ruby. These are people I have tagged with and have had friendly experiences with in the past. It’s really just a shift in perspective. Athena now, versus when I had tagged with her, just as talented and hard working and hard hitting as ever, but there’s a sense of maliciousness and meanness. Just a lot meaner than I had originally known her to be. Sometimes when you don’t see eye to eye or the person you thought you knew is has changed, it can be hard to overcome that. At this point, I’ve wrestled her two times since seeing the shift in attitude and personality. The fact that I can accept she’s different and has changed helps me walk into it not expecting any sort of mercy or remnants of friendship. The plan is to not let that get my head and just focus on the work and the wrestling.
Athena also participated in an interview saying that she thinks her match with Willow is worthy of the main event spot at ROH Death Before Dishonor. You can check that out here.