Deonna Purrazzo sees a potential one-on-one match with Athena as a defining Ring of Honor confrontation, one rooted in championship stakes, contrasting in-ring identities and the question of who can most credibly claim ownership of the brand’s women’s division.
Purrazzo, the reigning ROH Women’s Pure Champion, and Athena, the ROH Women’s World Champion, have each made clear that they want the matchup. Their possible collision would bring together two of Ring of Honor’s most prominent champions, but Purrazzo believes the significance goes beyond a conventional title-holder-versus-title-holder attraction.
Discussing what the bout would represent, Purrazzo compared the two wrestlers to guardians battling for the right to rule the company they have each helped carry in their own ways.
“I’ve said it before, a match between Deonna Purrazzo & Athena would be like the two keepers of the guard fighting for rights to the Kingdom,” Purrazzo said. “We’ve both carried Ring of Honor in very different ways. Athena’s legacy here speaks for itself, and I think what I’ve been able to build over the last 11 years here in ROH does the same.”
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The wording underlines why the prospect has continued to stand out. Both wrestlers currently hold championships associated with the ROH women’s division, yet those titles represent different competitive principles. Athena’s Women’s World Championship is the division’s top world prize. Purrazzo’s Women’s Pure Championship is tied to the Pure wrestling format, placing an immediate emphasis on technical precision, tactical discipline and the ability to succeed within a specialized set of match rules.
That contrast gives any meeting between them more than one possible dimension. A standard singles contest would focus on which champion can impose her overall game more effectively. A Pure Rules match would introduce a more specific question: whether Athena can adapt to a framework Purrazzo has made central to her current position in ROH.
Two champions, two claims to Ring of Honor
Purrazzo did not minimize Athena’s standing in her comments. Instead, she acknowledged the existing weight of Athena’s ROH legacy while also asserting that her own work in Ring of Honor over the past 11 years gives her a similarly substantial claim to the brand.
For Purrazzo, that is what would make the encounter feel larger than an isolated championship bout or a contest built simply around rankings. She views both competitors as wrestlers who believe they are integral to Ring of Honor’s foundation.
“But, we both believe that ROH belongs to us & that we’re part of its foundation,” Purrazzo said. “So, to me, that match isn’t just about who wins. It’s about who gets to say, ‘This is my Kingdom.’ Eventually, I think we have to find out.”
That framing creates a natural central theme for the match. Neither competitor would be entering as an outsider looking to make a name against an established champion. Purrazzo and Athena would be meeting as champions with their own records, their own styles and their own visions of what it means to lead Ring of Honor.
In Purrazzo’s view, a victory would offer something more personal than possession of a belt. It would provide the winner with the strongest available argument that she is the woman most entitled to define the division and speak for the company’s present direction.
There is also an important distinction in the way Purrazzo described their contributions. She said they have carried Ring of Honor “in very different ways,” a phrase that points to the appeal of the pairing without requiring either woman to abandon what has made her successful. The potential match is compelling precisely because it would not be a mirror-image contest. It would be a clash between elite performers approaching the same destination through different methods.
Pure Rules could change the entire matchup
Purrazzo’s strongest point of separation was the Pure Rules environment. She noted that she has wrestled regular matches for most of her career, making clear that she is not limited to one discipline. At the same time, she identified Athena’s lack of a prior Pure Rules challenge as a potential opening.
“But here’s the thing, I’ve wrestled regular matches for the majority of my career … Athena has never challenged under Pure rules before … can she change her style & strategy enough to win?” Purrazzo said.
It is a pointed challenge because it does not question Athena’s accomplishments or credentials. Purrazzo’s argument is about adjustment. A wrestler can be dominant in one setting and still face an unfamiliar test when the rules, pace and strategic priorities shift.
For the Women’s Pure Champion, that is the central competitive issue should the match be contested under Pure Rules. Purrazzo is presenting herself as the wrestler with a more direct relationship to that environment, while challenging Athena to prove that her championship excellence can translate under a format she has not previously entered.
Athena, meanwhile, would have the opportunity to answer a question that Purrazzo has deliberately put at the center of their rivalry. A win under Pure Rules would not only strengthen Athena’s standing against a fellow champion; it would demonstrate that she can thrive in a match structure identified closely with Purrazzo’s title and approach.
That is why the possible stipulation matters so much. It is not merely a decorative addition to an already significant title-versus-title meeting. It could be the factor that determines which wrestler is forced to compete most outside her usual comfort zone.
What is at stake for Purrazzo
For Purrazzo, the match would be a chance to reinforce the value of the Women’s Pure Championship and the expertise she brings to it. She has positioned Pure Rules as an arena where preparation and strategic flexibility matter, and she clearly believes her familiarity with that world would be meaningful against an opponent of Athena’s caliber.
Her comments also show that she is seeking more than validation as a champion. Purrazzo wants the opportunity to test her claim against the other woman who sees herself as a pillar of Ring of Honor. In that sense, the match would allow Purrazzo to turn a long-running belief into a direct in-ring statement.
A victory would give Purrazzo the result she says is necessary to declare, without qualification, that the Kingdom is hers. Even in the absence of a confirmed match date or announced stipulation, she has clearly laid out the terms through which she views the rivalry.
What is at stake for Athena
Athena enters the discussion as the Women’s World Champion, carrying a legacy that Purrazzo openly recognized. Any match with Purrazzo would therefore be another major opportunity for Athena to show why she sits at the top of the division.
If the contest happens under standard rules, Athena would be defending her claim against an opponent who says she has spent the overwhelming majority of her career in conventional matches. If it happens under Pure Rules, the challenge becomes more specialized, with Purrazzo openly asking whether Athena can alter her strategy enough to prevail.
Either path leads back to the same larger issue: leadership. Purrazzo is not portraying Athena as an opponent who needs to prove she belongs in Ring of Honor. She is portraying her as the other leading claimant to the same territory. That recognition makes the rivalry feel potentially decisive, because the winner would not simply defeat a rival champion. She would defeat the rival most equipped to dispute her place at the center of ROH.
A match Ring of Honor will eventually need to see
Purrazzo’s conclusion was direct: eventually, the match has to happen. No bout has been announced, and there is no confirmed date, title stipulation or event attached to the matchup. Still, the champions’ public interest in facing one another has ensured that the prospect remains an obvious major match for Ring of Honor.
The intrigue is already clear without a formal announcement. Purrazzo holds a title associated with Pure competition. Athena holds the Women’s World Championship. Both believe their accomplishments give them a foundational place within ROH. And Purrazzo has supplied the rivalry with a defining question that can only be answered in the ring: can Athena defeat her when the fight is governed by Pure Rules?
Until that encounter is made official, Purrazzo’s words have sharpened the stakes. A match against Athena would be about championships, legacy and style, but above all else, it would be a battle for the right to call Ring of Honor’s Kingdom their own.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.