Mercedes Moné - The Ringer Interview

[Jimmy King]

Mercedes Moné Has the Blueprint for a Global Wrestling Takeover

Ahead of her debut match for All Elite Wrestling, Mercedes Moné reflects on her future in AEW (and Japan), the friendships that matter, and her ultimate goal for women’s wrestling

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Mercedes Moné Has the Blueprint for a Global Wrestling Takeover​

Ahead of her debut match for All Elite Wrestling, Mercedes Moné reflects on her future in AEW (and Japan), the friendships that matter, and her ultimate goal for women’s wrestling​

Cameron HawkinsMay 24, 2024, 6:30am EDT

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Ahead of her debut match for All Elite Wrestling, Mercedes Moné reflects on her future in AEW (and Japan), the friendships that matter, and her ultimate goal for women’s wrestling

It’s January 2020. Houston, Texas, is hosting the Royal Rumble and its ardent prelude, Worlds Collide, where NXT and NXT UK talents face one another in a showcase of WWE’s future. I was given two media passes to both events and made the three-hour drive from Austin with my best friend, Peanut, to stay the weekend. During one match, we heard a guy yelling at the top of his lungs. To my surprise, it was my buddy Shellz, whom I met through Twitter and did a Nation of Domination cosplay with during WrestleMania 34 weekend. We took some pictures, went to my hotel room to record a podcast, and agreed to hit a few bars afterward. Walking through downtown Houston, we saw some familiar faces: WWE superstars Bayley and Sasha Banks. Playing it cool, I looked over as we passed them and said, “Hey, big fan.” They said thanks, and everyone kept walking—everyone except Shellz. He stopped them and rolled up his pants leg to show the duo his split tattoo, featuring both of their logos. I was experiencing secondhand embarrassment but soon realized I wasthe only one, as everyone had a great laugh, exchanged daps, and went about their evening. It would be the last wrestling weekend for a while for most, but Shellz and Peanut, who both passed away the following year, were able to close out their pro wrestling fandoms with huge exclamation points. And in a world where many choose to play it safe, Shellz’s last wrestling weekend was one in which he risked pride and comfort to show his appreciation for this game and its top players. That same “we only get to do all this once” mindset is why Banks—now known as Mercedes Moné—stepped away from what she knew to go and chase down the unknown.

“I don’t like being handcuffed,” Mercedes starts off, detailing her decision to leave WWE to tour Japan and later join All Elite Wrestling. “The only place to grow is with change, and I needed that change.” Mercedes—along with Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch—was part of the collective known as the “Four Horsewomen,” dominating WWE’s women’s division during their tenure, more often than not competing against one another for major titles, accolades, and respect. In 10 years, the former Sasha Banks won six world titles, three tag team titles, and even an ESPY for her historic WrestleMania main event against Bianca Belair. But after all that success, one of the biggest fish in the biggest pond wondered where a new stream could lead. That change in course would come in the form of Japan’s women’s wrestling scene, the river Mercedes had her eye on long before her first training session. “My favorite wrestlers were Manami Toyota and Aja Kong,” Mercedes shares, equating their impact on her with “the same inspiration that Eddie Guerrero gave me.” You can see Toyota’s influence in Mercedes’s attire, Kong’s in her physicality, and Eddie’s in her athletic precision. To this day, she still defers to Eddie when it’s time to make hard life decisions. “He’s still very much my idol,” she says, recognizing the parallels to a perceived undersized talent considered among the best in their field.




Eventually, Mercedes would combine her given first name with a play on a slang term for currency, and the newly christened Mercedes Moné kicked off her New Japan Pro-Wrestling tour by defeating Kairi for the IWGP Women’s Championship at Battle in the Valley. Stylistically, the blows were harder, the action was faster, and they were given almost a half hour to get their art across to the audience. This was the type of wrestling Moné had coveted since childhood—the detailed, drawn-out wars her idols had pioneered. And now, being one of the industry’s most popular and accomplished stars, she could navigate the pro wrestling space purely on her terms.

Competing in Japan wasn’t just a bucket-list item for Mercedes, though; it’s an ongoing passion project. Having already faced the likes of AZM and Mayu Iwatani (against whom she donned a Black Tiger–style mask in tribute to the late Guerrero), Mercedes intends to wrestle more in Japan; part of her decision to sign with AEW came down to the face that the promotion allows performers to pursue outside work. AEW acknowledges its top talent’s long legacies with Japanese wrestling, and events like Forbidden Door show AEW’s willingness not only to work with NJPW, but also to put on the best possible matches between each company’s best acts. Mercedes’s first AEW match—scheduled for this Sunday at Double or Nothing—has both AEW and NJPW ties: She will be taking on Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship in a match that is one year in the making. These two wrestled each other for the first time on May 21, 2023, in the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship tournament finals; Mercedes lost that match and suffered an ankle injurythat kept her out of active competition until this Sunday’s title bout.




Being able to compete against Jamie Hayter, Nyla Rose, Hikaru Shida, and other top athletes she’s been scouting for years was too attractive an offer to pass up, and it falls in line with Moné’s passion project: worldwide recognition of her greatness and the greatness of her peers. Officially debuting with AEW on March 13 in Boston, Mercedes wasted little time stating exactly what she was there to accomplish. “My mission statement is to make women’s wrestling globalized here in AEW,” Mercedes tells The Ringer, “and I want to accomplish so many things here. I want to wrestle the best.” Double or Nothing’s TBS Championship match is page one of the long-term plan, and while a smooth transition from Japan to AEW would’ve been ideal, Mercedes has all the confidence in the world in her abilities and those of the woman she’s challenging. “I don’t want to put pressure on myself because I’ve been doing this for 14 years. I have more excitement than pressure, but I am really nervous as well, just because it’s been a year since I performed, but being in the ring with someone like Willow Nightingale, I know it’s going to be absolutely everything I’ve ever dreamed of. We’re going to go out there and steal the show.”

“Stealing the show” barely feels hyperbolic when describing Moné’s career, and we’re not even talking about her work inside the squared circle. Outside the ring, she’s making her mark in entertainment. She’s helped the Mandalorian ward off the remnants of the Galactic Empire. She’s walked during New York Fashion Weekalongside her former tag team partner Naomi. She’s even followed in the footsteps of her cousin Snoop Dogg by rapping on her AEW theme. And in all these moments, the common theme is support. While some have to walk the path less traveled alone, Moné’s support system has given her the confidence boost to see her passions through. And that system, that sisterhood foundation, comes from Naomi as well as Moné’s best friend (and current WWE Women’s Champion), Bayley. While Mercedes and Bayley had wars as coworkers, their new adventures are more akin to those of eighth-grade pals who ended up at different high schools: If one has a game, look hard enough and you’ll see the other in the stands. Fan outrage about stars showing up to another company’s shows might still apply, but it hasn’t stopped Mercedes and Bayley from popping up at Naomi’s TNA events or Naomi and Bayley from going to Mercedes’s NJPW dates. “We’re family,” Mercedes explains, “and it’s bigger than wrestling.”

For Moné and Naomi especially, there’s an understanding of the moment they exist in time. After they had a well-publicized WWE walkout due to a lack of confidence in their creative direction, they are both now where they want to be: in a world where some of the most influential individuals in pro wrestling are Black women. After a strong run in TNA (as Trinity), Naomi surprised everyone by returning to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble, immediately being inserted into the WWE Women’s Championship picture. She even teamed with Moné’s most memorable opponent, Belair, and former AEW blue chipper Jade Cargill at WrestleMania XL, forming WWE’s unofficial “Big Three.” It’s not lost on Moné that this is uncharted territory, but there’s no better group of women to chart it out.

“I was thinking about this the other day,” Mercedes confesses, explaining the importance of this moment with Black women dominating in pro wrestling. “It’s been our goal. It’s the goal. It’s the dream. It’s the standard. It’s the barrier that we’ve been breaking down, and it’s letting people know that we’re here to stay and you have to get used to that standard.”

While it’s ambitious, it’s easy to see the possibilities. Mercedes has shared the same big stages and locker rooms with many of the AEW talents who also prospered post-WWE. Chris Jericho was the bridge, helping to give the new promotion instant credibility as its inaugural champion. Jon Moxley’s combined his deathmatch roots and generation-defining Shield run to become his best self, winning both the AEW and IWGP championships. Bryan Danielson was once again in “best wrestler alive” conversations, able to have long-form, technical wrestling showcases with brand-new talents. Swerve Strickland and Toni Storm were able to find their voices and style, leading them to the top championships in each of their divisions. Moné understands that to make her mark in a new home and with a new audience, she’ll need to flesh out and showcase what makes “The CEO” different from “The Boss.” She’s entered arenas in the flyest outfits and been able to get the AEW crowd to embrace her moniker as their newest three-letter chant, and there’s an understanding that she chose this place when she could have stayed on her previous trajectory. Ultimately, her injury during the NJPW tournament solidified for her exactly what she needs to be: a wrestler who, when given the proper theater, can perform above all the rest.

“They haven’t really got to see the CEO,” Mercedes explains confidently. “They know who Sasha Banks is, but the CEO, Mercedes Moné, [is] something they’ve never seen before, and I’m ready to show them. I’m the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, 100 percent.”

Cameron Hawkins writes about pro wrestling, Blade II, and obscure ’90s sitcoms for Pro Wrestling Torch, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and FanSided DDT. You can follow him on Twitter at @CeeHawk.