Syuri Falls to Athena While Other Joshi Stars Shine at ROH Global Wars

By Noah Leatherland

Ahead of Forbidden Door, Ring of Honor hosted competitors from around the world for Global Wars in Cincinnati, OH. The main event saw Syuri challenge Athena for the ROH Women’s Championship, while the undercard featured appearances from Maika and Takumi Iroha.

Syuri and Athena had collided over the IWGP Women’s Championship earlier this year, back at NJPW The New Beginning USA. This time, the two warriors fought over the ROH Women’s Championship, the belt that Athena has made history with. Just like their previous encounter, it was a spectacular battle, with Syuri putting the dominant champion in real danger. However, Athena’s desire to remain the ‘Forever Champion’ was just too strong, with her diving O-Face stunner putting Syuri down long enough for the pin. With that, the scoreboard is now level between the two, sharing one win apiece.

Earlier on in the broadcast, Maika of STARDOM made her second-ever ROH appearance, having appeared back in 2024 at Supercard of Honor. At Global Wars, Maika faced off against ROH regular, Diamante. Maika was on the backfoot for most of the match, but a Michinoku Driver led her to victory.

Having travelled to the US in support of Sareee, Takumi Iroha made her ROH debut at Global Wars. She faced off against Hyan, a woman who she has wrestled before in tag action in Marvelous. Iroha won the ROH crowd over with her deadly kicks, with her name being chanted by the end of the match. Hyan put up a good fight against Iroha, but Iroha’s Running Three put Hyan down for the count.