Tony Khan Comments On Mercedes Moné Potentially Joining AEW

Could we see Mercedes Moné turn up in AEW?

Mar 6, 2023 March 6th, 2023

Speaking during the post-AEW Revolution media scrum last night, Tony Khan was asked about the possibility of Mercedes Moné joining AEW.

Opting to comment without particularly commenting, Khan did not refer to Mercedes by name and instead simply referred to her as the "IWGP Women's World Champion" as he detailed his admiration for the former Sasha Banks.

Via eWrestlingNews, the AEW President's response to being asked about Moné was:

"I have a ton of respect for the IWGP Women's World Champion, she's a tremendous wrestler. I wouldn't want to comment on discussions I've had with any wrestler who is a free agent, in particular a wrestler who is a champion of one of our partners. [I've got] a ton of respect for that great wrestler and [she's] somebody that any wrestling company would be very fortunate to have wrestling for them."

While it was ultimately revealed to be Toni Storm, many had speculated towards the end of last year and into 2023 that Mercedes would be Saraya's mystery tag team partner for the 11 January AEW Dynamite bout that pitted the Anti-Diva up against Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter.

Since the turn of the year, Mercedes Moné has officially departed WWE, appeared at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, has defeated KAIRI to become the IWGP Women's Champion, and there's even been a tease of something between Mercedes and Kenny Omega at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2.

Reports in January noted how Moné is unlikely to formally sign with AEW due to Khan's promotion liking to tie talents down to at least three-year contracts. That said, that doesn't rule out the possibility of the Blueprint making an appearance in AEW at some point, particularly with those rumblings that STARDOM will be a part of the next Forbidden Door PPV. If indeed Mercedes is still the IWGP Women's Champion by that point, it would seem unthinkable that she would be absent from the next crossover between AEW and NJPW/STARDOM.

Andrew Pollard

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, Jamie Hayer, 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.

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