Well Akagi won against Roon early in the story so there's a precedent. Also, as a WoWs player I can assure you, a carrier can win against a surface ship in a 1v1 if it's Graf Zeppelin.
@TrueGoddessReincarnation It’s not about a max rank tiering. Atago was one of the Commander’s first two ships and is likely level 120 with gold gear. Akagi would also have been picked up early on, max leveled with good gear. Roon on the other hand, as a PR ship is a late arrival, probably lower leveled. Most of the port’s experienced ships would wipe the deck with her.
Tier lists a) apply to gameplay, not story and b) rank ships according to their performance WITHIN THEIR CLASS. They're not absolute powerlevel listings, moron.