Athena surpasses Roman Reigns as longest-reigning modern champion

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Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion Athena recently surpassed Roman Reigns as the longest-reigning world champion in the United States during the modern era of wrestling. Naturally, wrestling fans are divided about Athena being handed the distinction, since her (still ongoing) reign is taking place in ROH and not in WWE. Some Fed loyalists only recognize WWE title runs as worthy of holding such records, with some arguing ROH is a step below AEW. Reigns was WWE’s Universal Champion for nearly four years before dropping the title at 2024’s WrestleMania 40, and he’s recognized as the company’s longest-reigning, modern-era champ. On Sunday (July 19), Athena edged out Reigns’ streak when her title run hit 1,317 days. She won the ROH Women’s World Championship on December 10, 2022, when she beat Mercedes Martinez at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle. “The Fallen Goddess” has already been recognized as having the longest title reign in both ROH and the other Tony Khan-owned company, AEW. Athena commented on the milestone, writing on X (Twitter) on July 19: “I meant FOREVER!!!! Longest reigning champion of the modern era belongs to me and me only!!“ I meant FOREVER!!!! Longest reigning champion of the modern era belongs to me and me only!! #ForeverROHChamp #FallenGoddess #AmericanJoshi pic.twitter.com/1TjWvERLP6 — Athena is ROH & All Elite! (@AthenaPalmer_FG) July 19, 2026 While many fans congratulated Athena — who had a stint in WWE under the name Ember Moon — on social media, others questioned the legitimacy of her reign. “Why are we acting like this is anything? Roman Reigns was the top WWE champion x2. Athena is the top champion of AEW’s tier 2 promotion. It’s not the same,” X user Chet Steadman wrote. Another X user said: “And nobody still has any clue who she is because @TonyKhan keep her buried on ROH which nobody watches.” Matt Young of Pro Wrestling Syndicated Niagara also chimed in, writing: “Not a knock on her or ROH but reality is all her defences combined have been seen my as many people as one of Roman’s defences. Tony Khan has done so little with ROH which I get given there are only so many hours in a day.” “ROH is many steps below WWE. This is comparing apples and broccoli,” wrote another person. Nonetheless, the ROH star received praise from many social media users. One example is a comment that reads: “Athena is one of the most underappreciated female athlete throughout the entire pro wrestling landscape especially so much that she had went through and overcome and she has the greatest title defense of all time she is in fact the greatest ever.“ Other wrestling fans took shots at Roman, who defended his title less frequently than Athena. This includes an X user who wrote: “A real champion Athena is. Someone who actually defends their title and not sits at home.” Another person posted: “Well, at least the record is on someone who can actually wrestle.” In the WWE, three people have held the world title longer than Reigns: Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, and Bruno Sammartino. Bruno’s reign lasted 2,803 days. In other countries, such as Mexico, various stars have held titles in promotions for more than a thousand days. What do you think about Athena’s milestone? How would you compare it to Roman’s run atop WWE? Let us know in the comments.