Mercedes Moné recently shocked the world with her groundbreaking debut in All Elite Wrestling. After leaving WWE in 2022 with Naomi, they would both embark on journeys that would impact the professional wrestling industry at large. While Trinity (Naomi) headed to iMPACT/TNA where she became the Knockouts World Champion, Moné fulfilled her aspirations of wrestling in Japan. Moné debuted at Wrestle Kingdom 17 where she confronted KAIRI after her successful IWGP Women’s Championship defense.
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A month later at NJPW Battle in the Valley in San Jose, Moné would defeat KAIRI and win the title. When she lost the belt just over 50 days later, she would compete in the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship tournament in an attempt to become the inaugural champion. She made it to the finals against AEW’s Willow Nightingale but she suffered an unfortunate injury to her foot when she landed on it wrong. Moné has been open about her injury and recovery, noting that when it initially happened doctors believed it might be “career-ending.”
According to a report from PWInsider, Mercedes Moné is now likely the highest paid female wrestler in history. The deal is said to be over eight figures total and both WWE and AEW were committed to spending that amount to bring in The CEO. Talks between Moné and AEW were said to be around 18 months long while WWE came into the picture much later. In December, Moné had allegedly re-entered talks with the sports giant but things fell apart as both sides could not come to an agreement. Things were said to have ended amicably and as Moné has stated in recent interviews, a WWE return down the line is not off the table as she has “unfinished business” in a lot of places.
As Moné stated in her debut promo on the March 13 episode of AEW Dynamite, she’s looking to make the revolution global and AEW is the only place she can do that. The report from PWInsider adds some insight into that, revealing that while a return to WWE could have been beneficial to the star, it is a place she has already been. With AEW, it will allow her the creative freedom to explore other projects that would have to take a backseat in WWE due to the rigorous schedule. With her commitment to AEW, sources state that the biggest reason for her decision was allow for stronger potential for women currently in the professional wrestling business as well as future generations.
In December, Fightful Select reported Charlotte Flair had come to terms to a contract extension with WWE, one that included a significant pay increase. The deal was said to have made her one of the highest-paid female wrestler in WWE.
