Major Update On Mercedes Moné's Wrestling Future
WWE, AEW, NJPW/Stardom all linked, but where will the free agent land?
Mercedes Moné remains one of the most significant and talked-about free agents in professional wrestling today, as her name is continually linked with AEW, plus returns to market leaders WWE and NJPW/Stardom, where she competed between January and May 2023.
Although Moné is yet to sign anywhere, Fightful Select has published an update on each of these links and their shifting circumstances, clearing up some false rumours in the process.
AEW
Company sources have previously indicated a tentative plan for Mercedes and AEW to work together post-injury, following her appearance in the crowd at August's All In event. Those plans were "no longer active" as of early December. Per Fightful, Moné weren't close on terms, though there's no word on if this was related to money, scheduling, or booking.
The writeup stresses that recent aggregations suggesting Moné's AEW debut has been "cancelled" aren't accurate. The debut's existence and its cancellation were never reported and currently, Fightful has not been told that the door is closed.
AEW moved to shut down rumours of a Mercedes appearance at September's Grand Slam shows, as she was still injured at the time. The company didn't believe they could get away with having Moné appear again before she was cleared.
NJPW/Stardom
Moné primarily worked for the Bushiroad-helmed promotions between becoming a free agent in January and her May injury. In November, NJPW/Stardom representative Rocky Romero was hopeful of resuming talks with Mercedes. The company want her to return, though Moné isn't signed at the moment, remaining a free agent.
WWE
Fightful has not been informed of any talks of a potential WWE return for the former Sasha Banks, though the market leaders plan on resuming talks with free agents in 2024. Whether or not Moné is among them is unclear.
Rumours that WWE creative has been told to devise plans for Mercedes are "completely false." Fightful's sources have indicated as such, though the writeup stresses that creative wasn't prepared in advance for CM Punk's comeback, despite this being a regular occurrence for other returnees.
WWE has long been interested in bringing Moné back into the fold. This isn't new information. The AEW talks potentially hitting a snag isn't an indication that she is definitely heading back to Stamford yet, though.