ROH Women’s World Championship

The ROH Women’s World Championship is the top women’s title in Ring of Honor. It was created in 2021 as a fresh start for ROH’s women’s division after the earlier Women of Honor World Championship was retired. While the Women of Honor title helped give ROH’s women’s roster its first major singles prize, the ROH Women’s World Championship became the company’s modern women’s world title.

ROH planned to crown a new women’s world champion in 2020, but the COVID-19 shutdown delayed that process. The title finally began in 2021 through the ROH Women’s World Championship Tournament, which ran from July 31 to September 12, 2021.

The field included names such as Rok-C, Miranda Alize, Trish Adora, Willow Nightingale, Allysin Kay, Nicole Savoy, Sumie Sakai, Angelina Love, and Max the Impaler.

Rok-C beat Sumie Sakai, Quinn McKay, Angelina Love, and then Miranda Alize in the final at Death Before Dishonor XVIII to become the first ROH Women’s World Champion.

Rok-C’s reign gave the new belt an immediate identity as a youth-led reset for ROH’s women’s division. She defended it in ROH and on independent shows during a strange time for the company, since ROH announced a hiatus after Final Battle 2021.

Her major ROH defense came at Final Battle 2021, where she defeated Willow Nightingale. Soon after, the belt left ROH programming when Rok-C faced Deonna Purrazzo on Impact Wrestling in a winner-take-all match. Purrazzo, then AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, defeated Rok-C on the January 13, 2022 episode of Impact to win the ROH Women’s World Championship.

Purrazzo’s reign happened while ROH was between eras. She defended the belt on Impact against challengers including Santana Garrett, Miranda Alize, Chelsea Green, Gisele Shaw, Lady Frost, and Willow Nightingale.

But because Purrazzo could not appear at ROH Supercard of Honor XV on April 1, 2022, ROH created an interim title.

Mercedes Martinez defeated Willow Nightingale at that event to become the interim ROH Women’s World Champion. Martinez then defeated Purrazzo on the May 4, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite to become the undisputed champion.

Mercedes Martinez’s reign helped bridge the old ROH style and the new Tony Khan-owned ROH. She defended the title on AEW Dark, AEW Dark Elevation, and ROH pay-per-view, including a major defense against Serena Deeb at Death Before Dishonor 2022. AEW’s own site later noted that Martinez held the title for 220 days before losing it to Athena at Final Battle 2022.

Athena defeated Martinez on December 10, 2022, at ROH Final Battle 2022, starting the most important reign in the championship’s history. AEW’s announcement after that event listed Athena taking the ROH Women’s World Championship from Martinez among the major Final Battle title changes, and it also marked ROH’s move into the HonorClub relaunch era.

Under Athena, the belt became one of ROH’s most protected championships. Her reign has included defenses against Willow Nightingale, Emi Sakura, Yuka Sakazaki, Miyu Yamashita, Skye Blue, Kiera Hogan, Diamante, Allysin Kay, Angelina Love, Leyla Hirsch, Mercedes Martinez, Billie Starkz, Nyla Rose, Hikaru Shida, Red Velvet, Queen Aminata, Gisele Shaw, Abadon, Thekla, Alex Windsor, Thunder Rosa, Mina Shirakawa, Harley Cameron, and Persephone.

The physical belt has also changed. The original design ran from the title’s creation through March 2023. A new ROH Women’s World Championship design debuted on March 31, 2023, matching the updated look of Tony Khan-era ROH titles. In October 2024, Athena was presented with a custom spinner during her record-setting reign, featuring an Athena image on the spinning center plate.

Athena’s run kept growing after that. By September 2024, she had passed Samoa Joe’s famous 645-day ROH World Championship reign to become the longest-reigning champion in ROH history. As of May 2026, she was still champion. At Supercard of Honor 2026 on May 15, 2026, she retained in a women’s Survival of the Fittest match against Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki, Billie Starkz, and Zayda Steel.