Mercedes Mone has compared her experiences working for WWE and AEW, boldly claiming the difference between the two is “night and day!”
One year on from making a surprise appearance at AEW All In 2023, Mercedes Mone will once again grace Wembley Stadium at the event’s 2024 iteration, but this time as a champion. Mone, accompanied by newfound ally Kamille, is set to defend her TBS Championship against Britt Baker.
Her Wembley Stadium debut will become another notch on Mone’s already impressive list of accomplishments since her shock WWE exit in 2022. Before joining AEW earlier this year, Mone found success in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where she became the second-ever IWGP Women’s Champion.
Ahead of her biggest AEW match to date in London, the former Sasha Banks penned a feature for The Independent where she reflected on the rise of women’s wrestling in recent times and how she played a part in the phenomena.
Mercedes Mone: “The Difference Between [WWE & AEW] Is Night And Day”
Towards the end of the article, Mercedes Mone discussed signing with AEW and praised several female stars within the promotion including Toni Storm, Mariah May and Willow Nightingale.
She went on to compare her few months in AEW with her 10-year career in WWE, claiming that she feels in control and highly respected in her current promotion. In WWE, by comparison, she felt anxious and unsure of what she’d be doing almost every week.
In 2022 I left WWE. It was something my heart told me I needed to do, and it ended up being the right choice – this year I signed with WWE’s biggest competitor All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and now I’m ready to disrupt the business all over again.
The women’s division here is something special, and I love seeing it progress and grow. I remember seeing the current women’s champion, Toni Storm, back when she was in WWE. Back then she was so shy and introverted – now every week I’m glued to my set like I’m 10 again, waiting to see what Timeless Toni does next. Or Mariah May, who came into this business a superfan like me, and is taking over (a little like me, too). Or Willow Nightingale, who I beat for my TBS Championship – she’s just starting out, but she’s going to be huge.
The difference between the two companies is night and day. In WWE you have no idea what you’ll be doing week to week, but here I have space to be heard. Along with Tony Khan and with my friend and personal writer Jennifer Pepperman, there’s time to sit down and really plan out the kinds of stories we want to tell. I’m treated with genuine respect, and I really feel seen in a way I sometimes haven’t before. I love it so much here.
In her newsletter, Mercedes Mone commented on the “mixed response” to her match at AEW All In.