Ava Lawless recalls her “surreal” experience at Ring of Honor last month.
Last month, Canada native Ava Lawless received an opportunity to wrestle ROH Women’s Champion Athena in a Proving Ground match. The two battled on the July 13 episode of ROH on HonorClub. While the contest didn’t last long, stepping into an ROH ring marked a full-circle moment for Lawless, who grew up watching a collection of Ring of Honor DVDs.
During a recent chat with WrestleZone’s Ella Jay, Lawless reflected on her brief experience at Ring of Honor. “I think that was the biggest surreal moment for me so far,” Lawless said. “The fact that I was even in a Ring of Honor ring. The fact that I got to do the Code of Honor, I’m like, ‘That’s crazy to me.’ And I know people say like, ‘Don’t show that you’re such a fan,’ or whatever, but in my perspective, that’s the passion that fueled me to get here.”
“The love that started when I was a little girl is still the same love that I have now as an adult. So, when I was given that opportunity, it meant the world to me, and it still means the world to me. I’m still like, ‘Holy crap, I did that,’ you know? It was such a learning opportunity, and it was just such a great moment, I think, in the trajectory of my wrestling career. And I hope there’s more of them because, yeah, it’s addicting.”
ROH Fandom
Looking back on her ROH fandom, Lawless noted that she enjoyed the early 2000s feud between Samoa Joe and CM Punk. In a twist of irony, Joe and Punk wrestled each other again on the same night Lawless stood backstage for ROH tapings. While Joe and Punk wrestled on AEW Collision, Lawless watched in awe.
“Seeing [Punk] wrestle Joe again, I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ And I remember actually being backstage at AEW and Ring of Honor and being like, ‘If I don’t end up getting anything on this show, I’m actually just so incredibly happy that I get to be here for Punk versus Joe.’ I’m like, ‘This is crazy.’ Then I also love a lot of Nigel McGuinness’ work, so it was just crazy to be surrounded by those guys. Everyone’s pretty busy and you got to pick your time and place to say hello, but it still was a surreal moment,” Lawless said.
RELATED: Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up: IYO SKY Cashes In, Ava Lawless Interview
