No, Mercedes Moné Does NOT Have Creative Control (AEW News)

AEW Tony Khan addresses rumours of Mercedes Moné's creative control.

by Andrew Pollard
Tony Khan Mercedes Mone
AEW

With AEW President Tony Khan doing the usual press rounds as he promotes this weekend's hotly anticipated All In PPV, one topic that came up during Tony's latest media call was Mercedes Moné's creative control.

As Khan took questions from various media outlets, it was Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp who brought up that creative control question.

Via Sports Illustrated, Khan called it "ridiculous" that Mercedes was dictating her own on-screen presentation and direction:

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"Mercedes Moné is an incredible talent. I have wanted Mercedes Mone in AEW, and she is a big star on the show. I really enjoy working with her backstage as a talent, and she has done great things for the company doing media. She’s a great person. Mercedes is a great addition to AEW. I also think it’s ridiculous, the idea that people would think, because she’s a strong wrestler on the show, that she must be the one dictating that."

Tony added that he's certainly open to ideas from talent, but ultimately, he is the one who makes the decision on what fans see on AEW programming:

"I’m still listening to ideas, but if I don’t feel 100% about it, I’m not going to do it. That’s been a really positive change for the company, and the shows in 2025, the way things have come together, reflect that positively. I have such a high opinion of Mercedes in particular. I also have a high opinion of her opponent, Toni Storm. They are two of the best wrestlers on the planet. They are two people I meet with every single week and hear out ideas they might have, and they hear out ideas I have."

Khan again reiterated that Mercedes Moné does not have creative control, and that the CEO is "very receptive" to Tony's creative ideas:

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"She is a great person to work with. I've found her to be very receptive, and even if she comes in with an idea that points in one direction, I might have an idea that takes it 180 degrees in the total opposite direction. If I really feel strongly about it, I've found that she is somebody that is going to do what I believe and is very trusting of AEW."

Hopefully, this should now shut down those rumblings about Mercedes having the final say on her AEW creative, but then... well, the online wrestling community is the online wrestling community, where certain corners are going to have their own strong, skewed opinions, regardless.

As for why some fans believed the AEW TBS Champion has total creative control, that's down to how strongly Moné has been booked in AEW, not to mention some comments made by the talent herself when it comes to her creative.

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In terms of how she's been booked, Mercedes has been on the losing side in a couple of tag team matches, and that's about it. Since joining the promotion in early 2024, the former Sasha Banks hasn't lost a singles match, has surpassed 400 days as the TBS Champion, and, away from AEW, also has the CMLL World Women's Title, the RevPro Undisputed British Women's Title, and the EWA Women's Title currently to her name - which is quite the impressive run.

Will Mercedes Moné's run of dominance continue at AEW All In this weekend as she gets her first shot at the AEW Women's Championship, or will 'Timeless' Toni Storm manage to hand Mercedes her first AEW loss?

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.