This Wednesday, Mercedes Mone will appear on AEW Dynamite for the first time since she failed to win the Women’s World Championship from Toni Storm at All In. That match, while captivating, represented her first loss in AEW, halting the massive momentum she had been accumulating since leaving WWE.
Since then, she has been busy elsewhere, most notably winning titles in Italy and Poland to add to her impressive collection that includes the TBS Championship. Meanwhile, the AEW women’s division has undergone some changes since she disappeared.
Here is a projection of what may befall her beginning Wednesday.
Ever since Mone’s return, a few new players have emerged in the women’s division. Thekla, who joined the promotion in late May, has had a strong start so far, being unbeaten in singles competition. She, alongside Julia Hart and Skye Blue, has also formed the “Triangle of Madness” stable, and with the right booking, they may be a force to be reckoned with.
Elsewhere, Alex Windsor is another name to keep an eye on. The Brit, who is notable for being Will Ospreay’s fiancee, is a more recent signee having joined only last month. Yet already, she is in a prominent program, feuding with Athena for the ROH Women’s Championship and working alongside Storm.
One last name that deserves mention is Megan Bayne. Having made her debut in January, she made an immediate splash by allying herself with veteran Penelope Ford and becoming Storm’s first challenger post-Mariah May. She lost the match but continues to be in the periphery, most recently participating in a Casino Gauntlet match at All In.
All of them make for viable TBS challengers for Mone, and that is not to mention wrestlers outside the promotion. The most prominent is Stardom’s AZM, who won the NJPW Strong Women’s title from Mone in a triple threat match. Mone was not pinned in the match, however, so she may take a special interest in avenging that loss.
Of course, no name presents a bigger threat to Mone’s reign than Athena herself. The two first met in the semifinals of the Women’s Owen Hart Toutnament, with “The CEO” winning by countering the O-Face into a roll-up while holding her opponent’s trunks. She would eventually win the tournament, but fail to dethrone Storm as mentined earlier.
Fast forward to now. Athena is busy feuding with Storm, she might not win, given that she still has what amounts to a developmental promotion’s belt. Her history with, Mone, however, is one that may prove too tempting for Tony Khan not to revisit.
That being said, the ensuing rematch may boldly go Athena’s way. Coming off her first AEW loss, Mone may prove mentally fragile. She has lost before, but the humiliating failure to attain wrestling immortality against Storm stung more than most, and she may be more paranoid than before.
Athena could be the next to crack that ego even more by wresting the TBS Championship. It will truly begin Mone’s downfall, as she starts losing the rest of her belts as the next twelve months progress.
Ever since Mercedes Mone’s defeat, the AEW Women’s Division has looked somewhat less vigorous. Storm is still a fantastic wrestler and character, but Mone has a certain glamor that seems to vanish when she is not around.
Well, that glamor will soon return, albeit slightly tarnished from her first-ever loss in the promotion. How it holds up will be one of the key storylines entering the rest of 2025 and even beyond.
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