Mercedes Moné is an underrated icon. Fight me.
If there’s one name that deserves more respect in the wrestling world, it’s Mercedes Moné. A generational talent, Moné has crafted a legacy that transcends promotions and borders. Yet, despite her in-ring excellence and undeniable influence, she remains criminally underrated, and often criticized. Yet few womens’ wrestlers in the history of this sport has the accomplishments that the CEO has. Many fans do recognize this, and also, some of your favorite wrestlers.
Mercedes Moné is your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler.
Though, predictably, she has her lemmings of haters. The online hate for Mercedes Moné feels completely manufactured. Many people dislike her simply because she walked out on WWE and joined AEW. Many blindly believe she’s a “backstage diva” without any real proof. Or for those “wrestling” fans who value promo skills over in-ring ability, perhaps she’s not good enough on a mic. However, leaving WWE was the right move for her—she wasn’t valued the way she should have been, so she took a risk, bet on herself, and is now the highest-paid female wrestler in the business. Something tells me this rubs the misogynists in the room the wrong way but we’ll get to that later…
But her impact on wrestling, not just women’s wrestling but the industry as a whole, is undeniable. She has achieved countless historic firsts, including being the first black woman to headline Wrestlemania alongside Bianca Belair. From the Women’s Revolution, top rated championship matches with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, and becoming the first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions with Bayley, she left a legendary trail even before she left Titan Towers.
And then she got even better…
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Her Best Matches: A Testament to Excellence
For those who doubt her greatness, here’s a look at eleven of her best matches that showcase her world-class ability. A reminder, if you will.
These are in no particular order, and demonstrate her seemingly overlooked capabilities in-ring.
- vs. Bayley – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn (2015) – A storytelling masterpiece that revolutionized women’s wrestling in WWE.
- vs. Hazuki – NJPW Strong Style Evolved (2024) – Voted best women’s match of 2024 by Sports Illustrated.
- vs. Willow Nightingale – AEW Double or Nothing (2024) – A classic showcase the future of the AEW Women’s Division. #4 on SI’s Top Ten Women’s Matches of 2024.
- vs. Bayley – NXT TakeOver: Respect (2015) – The first-ever women’s Iron Man match in WWE history, proving that women could main-event and steal the show.
- vs. Charlotte Flair – WWE Hell in a Cell (2016) – The first-ever women’s Hell in a Cell match, cementing her status as a history-maker.
- vs. Becky Lynch – Hell in a Cell (2019) – A brutal HIAC battle that further displayed her versatility.
- vs. Bianca Belair – WrestleMania 37 (2021) – An emotional and historic main event that made history for Black women in wrestling.
- vs. KAIRI – NJPW Battle in the Valley (2023) – Her NJPW debut, delivering a high-level championship match that made waves in Japan.
- vs. Mayu Iwatani – STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom (2023) – A hard-hitting, technical war with one of the greatest wrestlers in our time in Mayu Iwatani.
- vs. Stephanie Vaquer – 2024 AEW Forbidden Door (2024) — Vaquer was always going to be great, but she has Mercedes (and TK) to thank for her current run in WWE.
- vs. Kris Statlander – AEW Full Gear (2024) – One of two highly rated classics between these two. #6 on SI’s Top Ten Women’s Matches of 2024.
She went from Sasha Banks, who was bound to be lost in the WWE corporate machine, to a featured attraction who puts on mat classics around the world. That is called evolution.
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Her Time in Japan: A Proving Ground
When Mercedes Moné left WWE, skeptics assumed she couldn’t thrive outside the company. Besides, in the minds of many, if you aren’t in WWE, you aren’t anything at all (such a small-brained world view, but I digress…). Those doubts were quickly erased when she arrived in Japan, immediately proving she could hang with the world’s best in STARDOM and NJPW.
In Japan, she wasn’t treated as just another former WWE star—she was given the chance to wrestle in a style that emphasized skill, precision, and hard-hitting fighting spirit. Her battles against KAIRI and Mayu Iwatani weren’t just great matches; they were proof that Moné could adapt, evolve, and excel in a new environment. She didn’t just succeed—she flourished, drawing new eyes to women’s wrestling in Japan and showing that she was more than just a WWE product.
In fact, not many women throughout wrestling history have held major titles in both Japan and the United States, across multiple major promotions. Moné joins the small list who have, which includes legends Bull Nakano and Madusa Miceli. These are accomplishments that should not be downplayed (but will by miserable marks).
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AEW: The CEO’s Next Chapter
After suffering a major setback with a near career-ending ankle injury, Mercedes persisted. Now in AEW, Moné is in the middle of another career-defining run. With a stacked women’s division, her arrival in AEW marked an injection of excitement. Her current run as a “belt-collector” is a featured attraction in itself. While some in the women’s division have struggled with consistency, Moné has the potential to be the pillar the division needs. The same can’t be said for Britt Baker, who has mostly faded from fan interest and let’s face it — about a dozen have surpassed her own ability. I can tell you from attending the most recent Collision that she has plenty of fans. Whether you love her or hate her, she always gets a reaction.
Her runs in Japan and AEW have been a joy to watch, delivering incredible matches and constantly proving naysayers wrong. Her adaptability in the ring is unrivaled. She can seamlessly adjust to any opponent’s style and has no trouble carrying less-experienced wrestlers through a match. See: Billie Starkz.
Note: Billie Starkz is a future AEW Women’s World Champion. But she’s 20. Hence, still green in a lot of ways…
Her current run as a belt-collector that puts on banger after banger is unmatched by any current women’s wrestler out there, aside from maybe Saya Kamitani (if you don’t know who she is, get educated, mark). Mercedes is currently in a historic title run. And aside from Toni Storm, who is undoubtedly one of AEW’s biggest draws, Mercedes has been part of AEW’s current upswing. And even though business is looking up in the land of the Elite, and Mercedes is no doubt a part of that, she has her usual round of haters.
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The Hypocrisy of the Hate
Despite everything she’s accomplished, Mercedes Moné still faces unwarranted criticism. When CM Punk walked out of WWE, he was hailed as a hero. Someone who stood up for himself and refused to be mistreated. Yet, when Mercedes and Naomi did the same in 2022, they were vilified. Why the double standard?
Could it be because she’s a woman?
Like Punk, who essentially walked out of WWE because he knew his own self-worth, Moné knew her worth and refused to be disrespected. She didn’t accept mediocrity, she didn’t let herself be sidelined, and she didn’t stay in a company that didn’t value her properly. But instead of receiving praise, she was labeled “ungrateful.” It’s the kind of hypocrisy that plagues wrestling fandom—a mindset that celebrates rebellion for some but condemns it for others.
Mercedes was good enough for the WWE fan base as long as she’s under their corporate thumb. But as soon as she left, the blinders immediately take over, and her stock immediately “dropped” simply due to the fact that she wasn’t in the “right” company. Her stock never actually dropped — in fact, her time in Japan and now in AEW has greatly increased it, if anything. Like Swerve Strickland alluded to in a recent interview, there’s a growing number of former AEW talents whose stock rose simply for existing in the company.
That should tell you something…
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“bUt wHAt aBouT mOViNg teh nEEdle?
And of course, the typical response will be: “She doesn’t move the needle!”
So?
Did Bret Hart move the needle? Hart was WWF Champion multiple times throughout the mid 90s in the WWF, which witnessed a notable decrease in ratings. Does that mean he’s not the legend we thought he was? Raw on Netflix has seen a dip in viewership since their debut, does that mean Cody Rhodes or John Cena aren’t “needle-movers” and aren’t subjectively good?
No, that’s ridiculous.
The ‘WWE-ification’ of the IWC has conditioned an entire generation of fans to look at numbers first before deciding if something is good or not. That’s like only eating at McDonald’s and IHOP because they’re the top ranked chains in their respective categories and ignoring all other restaurants because they aren’t “needle-movers” in the food industry.
Personally, I think McDonald’s and IHOP are nasty, and prefer to always eat at local non-chain food joints, where you’ll get better service and better quality food anyway. But I digress…
Mercedes also accomplished something few others have – leaving the WWE bubble to find success. Could Becky Lynch, Bayley and Charlotte Flair leave WWE and find success in Japan or AEW? Probably — but something tells me they’re pretty comfortable being well-paid in the comfort of the WWE system. Which is perfectly fine. However, the point is that Mercedes took a chance on herself and did it.
Toni Storm did it. Swerve Strickland did it. Ricochet is doing it. Could it be that the wrestling world is bigger than WWE? Hmm… Mercedes has already accomplished more than most women’s wrestlers will ever have and she’s not even close to being done yet.
Hate her all you want, but her legacy will speak for itself.
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A Legacy That Speaks for Itself
Love her or hate her, Mercedes Moné is one of the best to ever do it. From WWE to Japan to AEW, she has consistently delivered, broken barriers, and elevated women’s wrestling to new heights. The hate she receives isn’t based on her talent—it comes from a lack of perception beyond a narrow-minded tunnel vision. It’s a sect of miserable wrestling fans that follow the gooner’s bandwagon, can’t think for themselves, and remain in their own stink. Meanwhile, wrestling aficionados like myself, and even wrestlers across all promotions, love and value Mercedes.
She is your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler. I will stand by that statement. She ditched Sasha Banks and the WWE Universe, and became larger than the universe itself across multiple countries and mediums.
Mercedes Moné is one of the most important figures in modern wrestling. It’s time the world, or at the least, salty internet marks, give her the respect she deserves.
She isn’t just “The CEO”—she’s The Standard, The Blueprint, and The Boss of women’s wrestling.
-TKW
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