Mercedes Mone made her AEW debut on Wednesday’s Dynamite: Big Business episode by opening the show with a promo and noting she had unfinished business with Willow Nightingale. She later made the save for Nightingale in the main event.
Fightful Select has a detailed report about Mone’s journey to All Elite Wrestling. Mone has been on the AEW payroll for well over two months, with some sources thinking the deal was effectively agreed upon back in December when she filed for several trademarks for her name.
The deal is a multi-year contract. NJPW is expected to be factored in, and were under the impression as of January that they would be able to continue to work with Mercedes. While in talks with WWE and AEW, she made it clear she wasn’t ready for an in-ring return after having two ankle surgeries.
It was said last August, when “Mercedes was brought in during AEW All In to appear in the crowd, and AEW believed that while no deal was signed, there was an understanding the two sides would work together.”
At the time, most in the company didn’t know how bad Mone’s ankle was, something she noted in a recent interview that it was career-threatening.
This is just a snippet of the story. For complete details, please visit Fightful Select at Patreon.com/Fightful.
