Maya World considers herself lucky to have someone like Athena in her corner, even if they’ve been feuding on television.
Maya World spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of her appearance at ROH/MLP Global Wars. World has recently been feuding with Athena, the ROH Women’s Champion for 1200 days (and counting).
The pair faced off for the title on Thursday’s episode of Ring Of Honor TV, with Athena picking up the win. Maya World made her AEW/ROH debut in a Proving Ground match against Athena back in 2023, and they’ve also worked together on the independent scene, too. World joked that Athena was a lot nicer back then, but said she’s learned a great deal from her mentor since then.
“It was such a great experience. I honestly didn’t even realize how much we moved the same in-ring until that match, since I had been training with her for a few months at that point. People would always say that I reminded them of her, which I never saw — now that I’ve watched, I can see we do move similarly,” Maya World explained.
Maya World is grateful for Athena being in her corner
“She has definitely given me so much advice — business-wise, wrestling-wise, and just about being a Black woman in wrestling. I feel very lucky to have her as a mentor in my corner. Things have changed now that I’m in AEW and have won matches. I, Hyan, and Deonna Purrazzo beat her, Billie Starkz, and Diamante at Global Wars. I think she saw that I wasn’t here just to be another minion in training. I’m here to make my own statement.
“Before that, she taught me so much and gave me opportunities, like on her Who Run the World show, where I got to face Kris Statlander because she believed I could be in the ring with her. I’m very grateful for that. She’s been an amazing mentor for me as I’ve been coming up in this business.”
Maya World and her tag team partner, Hyan, will compete at ROH/MLP Global Wars on Friday, March 27. The event will air live on Triller TV and on demand on ROH HonorClub.
Stay tuned for more of our interview with Maya World on WrestleZone.
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