Mercedes Mone and Naomi both walked away from WWE in 2022, and while Naomi has since returned to the company, Mercedes has yet to do so. Currently Mercedes is one of the top stars in the AEW women’s division, but it seems that there was a chance for her to return to WWE before she ultimately signed with AEW.
In her recent Mone Mag, Mercedes Mone revealed that she was going back and forth in talks with WWE when she got the invitation to attend AEW All In at Wembley Stadium in 2023. She also noted that Tony Khan wanted her to be part of a backstage segment, which she ultimately turned down.
“Let me take you all the way back to 2023. At the time, I was still going back and forth in talks with WWE when I got an invitation to go to All In London. Now, you guys know me. I LOVE professional wrestling. So there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to miss the opportunity to witness something this big—a wrestling show of this magnitude, outside of WWE, at Wembley Stadium. I love history. I love being around history, and even more than that, I love being a part of it. The second I got to London, something just felt different. The energy was right.
Then I saw Tony backstage, and he was SO excited to have me there. So excited, in fact, that he wanted me to do a backstage segment with… WILLOW! I was like— WOWOWOWOW. WAIT! I am NOT signed. I do NOT work here. I’m just here to enjoy the show! Backstage, I got to see so many familiar faces—Amanda Huber, Renee, Rusev—and I got to meet so many new people too. Then I was escorted to my box seats, and for once… I got to be a FAN. Do you understand how rare that is for me? I never really got the opportunity to sit in the crowd and just be a fan at WrestleMania. Okay… MAYBE there was one time I went in disguise for Bayley’s match. But that’s another story. This time, I could actually sit there. No match to prepare for. No entrance to think about. No pressure. Just Moné and more than 80,000 screaming wrestling fans celebrating the thing I love most in this entire world. From the way I was treated to the moment I arrived at Wembley, I remember thinking: Wait… I Love this!”
Mercedes Mone will be stepping into the ring at AEW All In this year as she’s currently set to challenge Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s Championship at the event.
Stay tuned for updates.