AEW Dynamite: Mercedes Moné Debuts on Big Business Special

Mercedes Moné made her long-awaited AEW debut at AEW Dynamite!

By Haley Miller

Heading into 2024, former WWE Women's Champion Mercedes Moné is one of the most talked about wrestling free agents on the market -- and she knows it. Moné has been teasing fans for weeks on social media, posting cryptic tweets and Instagram stories, including a photo of her outside TD Garden in Boston the same night WWE was running a show. Moné debuted in Japan in the new year, showing up at WrestleKingdom 17 to confront KAIRI who, at the time, was the IWGP Women's Champion. 

She had a brief stint in Japan that got short when she was injured back in May in a match with AEW's Willow Nightingale. She's been out of action ever since but it hasn't stopped her from keeping fans interested in her next move. In November she began posting videos of her resuming wrestling training teasing a return on the horizon. AEW began teasing a show at the TD Garden in Boston, the hometown of Moné. Marketed as "Big Business" with tons of money branding, it became clear that the biggest women's wrestling free agent in the world would be making her long-awaited return to a professional wrestling ring. Mone came out to get Big Business started in the right way, and the crowd gave her quite the response.

Earlier this year, Fightful Select reported that Moné had talks with those in WWE, but they couldn't come to a consensus and it fell apart. Instead, sources within WWE believed that she would be showing up somewhere "imminently" and that the likely landing point would be AEW. Previous reports regarding Moné's free agency status revealed that her asking price is one of the highest contracts from a women's wrestler to date, possibly even surpassing the big increase Charlotte Flair received in her newest contract. 

AEW President Tony Khan has recently made it clear that the women's free agent market is a priority for him in 2024, and that several women in AEW are stepping up to the plate. Khan pointed out AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm, TBS Champion Julia Hart, Riho, Nightingale, and Kris Statlander. There are several other valuable female free agents that AEW, WWE, or even TNA could bring in, including former NWA World Women's Champion Kamille and Giulia who is set to finish up with STARDOM at the end of March. Here's the rundown for tonight's Big Business.

  • AEW World Championship Match: Samoa Joe (C) vs. Wardlow
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Riho
  • The New Elite (Young Bucks and Okada) vs. Pac, Penta, and Eddie Kingston
  • Darby Allin vs. Jay White
  • Chris Jericho and Hook vs Gates of Agony

Are you excited to see Mercedes Moné's journey in AEW? Let us know in the comments!

0comments

Related:

Start the Conversation

of