Tony Khan is a well-known lifelong pro wrestling fan, and it’s safe to say he still keeps up some with the competition. The AEW product is clearly inspired by outside pro wrestling happenings, past and present, at times, but a certain Roman Reigns idea being speculated on by fans is beginning to gain some traction.
Roman Reigns continues to be one of the top WWE Superstars and faces of the company, despite working a limited schedule for more than one year now. While there have been no serious talks about the real-life Bloodline leader joining AEW, online chatter picked up earlier this summer amid unconfirmed reports claiming to know TKO’s stance on Roman’s lucrative WWE contract.
The OTC solidified his spot in WWE history with his 1,316-day reign as Universal Champion, which is the fourth-longest world title reign in company history, and WWE’s longest recognized reign since 1988. Roman’s legendary Undisputed WWE Championship reign included 735 days as WWE Champion. Tony Khan has booked a similar steam-roller championship reign with Athena as the ROH Women’s World Champion, and at times this has fueled debates on her title run vs. Roman’s reign.
Sources recently revealed how Athena is taking time off during her championship run. The two-time NXT Champion remains relevant, thanks to Tony Khan and her loyal fanbase, and she’s making headlines over rumored championship plans and call-ups to AEW.
Roman Reigns’ WWE Title Run Reportedly Holds No Weight With Tony Khan In AEW-ROH
Athena is 1,009 days into her first reign as ROH Women’s World Champion. The former Ember Moon of WWE recently celebrated the major milestone of 1,000 days with the gold, and has received more AEW TV time as of late while still dominating ROH.
Fans are wondering if Tony Khan is looking to cement The War Goddess spot in the pro wrestling history books to take a spotlight off Roman Reigns’ impressive run. To break Reigns’ reign of 1,316-day reign, Athena would need to keep her title past Saturday, May 30, 2026, which would seemingly occur during AEW’s 8th annual Double Or Nothing Weekend.
WWE records reportedly have had no impact on Athena’s AEW-ROH booking, according to a Fightful Select Q&A. In response to speculation on if Khan is consciously extending Athena’s title reign past Roman’s historic reign, or if her legendary run will be ending soon. Sean Ross Sapp noted that he does not believe anything related to Reigns’ creative has ever had any kind of bearing on what Khan has planned for his companies, especially Ring of Honor.
It was noted that ROH is where Tony Khan wanted Athena, and as speculated by many, now appears to be the time when Athena will make a big full-time move to the AEW roster for what’s next in her career.
The War Goddess last retained over Mina Shirakawa at Death Before Dishonor in late August. Reigns has not competed since being temporarily written out of the storylines after his Clash In Paris win over Bronson Reed.