At AEW’s WrestleDream on October 18, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone issued a last-minute open challenge that was answered by Mina Shirakawa. The match saw Mone retain her title.
A Record-Breaking Plan
The Wrestling Observer recently provided details on the booking, noting the plan was for Mone to achieve a historic milestone. According to the report, “AEW wanted Mercedes Mone to break the record held by Ultimo Dragon (the most championships held simultaneously by a professional wrestler) at the WrestleDream 2025 event.”
Protecting CMLL Results
The primary reason for the late addition was to protect the results of another promotion’s event. The night before WrestleDream, on Friday, Mercedes Mone beat Persephone in Mexico City to retain the CMLL Women’s Championship. Only after securing that victory did she fly to the AEW event and issue the challenge that was accepted by Shirakawa.
The Observer report explained the conflict, stating, “but if they had pushed it prior to late Friday night, it would have given away that she wasn’t losing her CMLL women’s title to Persephone. Unlike WWE, which doesn’t concern itself with spoiling a finish to a show in Mexico, AEW does. But it led to adding a match with zero build at the last minute.”
Mone was successful in her defense against Shirakawa, reportedly securing her 11th simultaneous championship and breaking the record of 10 held by Ultimo Dragon. However, her celebration was cut short by AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander, who also retained her title earlier in the night against “Timeless” Toni Storm. Following a confrontation between the two champions, a future match has been set up.Â
