Add as a preferred source on Google Maya World won her first AEW title this past Sunday, July 26, 2026, defeating Hikaru Shida for the TBS Championship at AEW Redemption in Montreal. The win came on World’s birthday, just over seven months after she signed with the promotion.
During the post-show media scrum, the new champion talked about making the most of the opportunities she’s been given and pointed to Athena as one of the people most responsible for preparing her for the moment.
“I just take every opportunity I’ve been given and definitely ran with it. It’s something that I always prided with myself.
If I can bring her up, Athena prepared me for moments like this. She didn’t know what was gonna happen for me or come for me, but she was like, ‘You’re good. These moments are gonna come, so you have to be ready.’
So I always prided myself on, ‘If there’s an opportunity, take the ball, don’t drop it, keep going.'”
The relationship between the two goes beyond the on-screen storyline. Athena trained World before the two faced off for the ROH Women’s World Championship in March, and was her opponent again in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament.
World beat her mentor on that occasion and advanced to the final against Mercedes Moné at Forbidden Door.
The message World delivered at Redemption echoes a point she had already made before the event. In an interview this month, she said Athena always demanded that her students stay ready, since opportunities in pro wrestling can come without warning.