More details behind Mercedes Moné’s road to AEW.
As noted, Moné has officially signed with AEW and made her debut on AEW Dynamite: Big Business on March 13. Fightful Select has now offered more details, noting that sources have confirmed that Moné has been on AEW’s payroll for “well over two months.” It’s believed that the deal is multi-year, however Fightful is still working to confirm that.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling expects to be factored into the deal and is under the impression that Moné will be able to continue her work there after her 2023 run was cut short as a result of her serious ankle injury.
That injury required two surgeries and 10 months of recovery. Even while negotiating deals, it was made clear that Moné was not ready for an in-ring return. But dating back to AEW All In London where she made an appearance in the crowd, AEW was under the impression that the two sides would work together down the line despite not knowing the severity of her injury.
It was also noted that Tony Khan did not want Moné to appear before fans in a walking boot or on crutches as that would mean she wouldn’t be ready to wrestle for some time.
Fightful reiterated that Moné did have “friendly” talks with WWE at the end of 2023 as well, however they were far apart on terms. WWE wished her well and it became clear after she didn’t appear at WWE RAW Day 1 or Royal Rumble that she would be AEW-bound.
January 3 and 10 were once considered as dates for Moné’s AEW debut, but she was not physically cleared at that point. NJPW sources also spoke to Fightful and indicated that she was not slated to face Giulia at Battle in the Valley as speculated. They would’ve wanted her at Wrestle Kingdom if she was cleared and wouldn’t have held anything back in that regard.
WrestleZone will continue to provide updates on Moné’s status as new information becomes available.
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