Is AEW showing favoritism towards Mercedes Mone?
She is if you ask the current AEW Women’s World Champion. The 26-year-old and Mone have been going back and forth in recent weeks. It all started when Mariah called out Mone for her backstage attitude. The TBS Champion responded in her magazine trashing May.
I’m sure the AEW World Women’s Champion was thrilled about her response. Nevertheless, Mone posted a celebratory message on her social media claiming to be the best TBS Champion ever after defeating Anna Jay.
That sparked conversation amongst Mone's positioning in AEW. Though she’s the TBS Champion, Mercedes also holds the NJPW Strong Women's Championship. She could even win the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s title at Wrestle Dynasty if she beats Mina Shirakawa.
Mone is positioned highly in AEW, and given her WWE success, it’s not hard to see why. But some feel that it’s overshadowing Mariah May’s title reign, much to the chagrin of the AEW Women’s World Champion herself.
“I think she’s been given a lot more than me.” Mariah said to Niko Exxtra. “I would love to have more time and more opportunity, but I think that I’ve always been underestimated. In one minute I can make you remember me. In one minute I can get a million impressions. So, that’s fine. Stack the deck against me. I always shine.”
Given the reported seven-figure salary that Mone is receiving, it makes sense why Tony Khan has put more focus on the TBS Champion than May. As talented as Mariah is, Mercedes is the bigger star because of her WWE background.
She’s a bigger name in mainstream media, especially after her Mandalorian appearance several years ago. Whether Mone is having a better AEW run is certainly up for debate, but you simply can’t deny the star power she brings.
The continued back and forth between May and Mone is a fascinating one. There’s been no reports so far that AEW is slowly building up a TBS Champion vs. AEW Women’s World Championship match. Perhaps the two champions are trying to get the conversation started for it. We’ll see in the coming months whether this evolves into something on AEW television. It's definitely an interesting match because of the personalities involved.