I just can't fathom signing someone for the kind of money it will take to get Mercedes into AEW and then stay the course with the same ole shit women's division booking. WWE walked from negotiations because she wanted more than Charlotte Flair. Rumor is that is $3.5 million/yr.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Khan wants a big headline signing to change the narrative around AEW and take some momentum from WWE but overall is going to continue in the same direction. That would be monumentally stupid. Mercedes has an almost Punk-esque rabid fanbase. I do believe she's one of the few needle movers that will ever be available. She was #14 on PWTee's 2023 top merch mover list and hasn't had a match or an appearance outside of sitting in the stands at Wembley since May (the Willow match to be the first NJPW Strong Women's Champ).
With Mercedes along with the stars they've slowly built and getting women like Hayter and Deeb back, the women's division could carry AEW through 2024. My head spins with the possiblities of matchups, feuds, tournaments. If the status quo is maintained here, it would be criminal.
Edit: If Mercedes walks though those doors on Wednesday for anywhere close to the rumored asking price, it's not just a monumental moment in women's wrestling, it's a monumental moment in women's SPORTS. I don't think it's hyperbole to say it would literally be a game changer.
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Ye, as I said, for me if Mone signs with AEW for any amount close to what she was asking WWE, that has to mean that AEW is going to take the women division seriously. AEW already has a pretty decent amount of talent in there (without any new free agents) and just needs to give them more time.
Also hopefully that also means a Stardom integration in Forbidden Door / Wrestledream.
It's the tv show ratings that could use a bump, though. PPVs always do well.
*climbs back from the depths*
Well that was a terrible fucking Christmas.
Rather enjoyed Worlds End though. Joe as champ is great and sets up Joe vs Bryan which, yeah do that again before Bryan hangs it up.
I'm gonna miss Andrade, but sounds like I may have a dream signing to compensate.
Well that was a terrible fucking Christmas.
Rather enjoyed Worlds End though. Joe as champ is great and sets up Joe vs Bryan which, yeah do that again before Bryan hangs it up.
I'm gonna miss Andrade, but sounds like I may have a dream signing to compensate.
So The Rock was the surprise on RAW tonight, and then he calls out Roman Reigns which it appears their Mania match could be happening. Guess Cody probably wishes he would not have left AEW, now his "story" will never be told considering Punk will fight Rollins. Guess the grass is not greener on the other side as some think.
Hoping the Mercedes signing for AEW is true. The only problem is that she gets the title here at some point soon, what do you do with a returning Jamie Hayter who should have that title around her waist than have to wait and wait again.
Have to also wonder if Deonna is a lock for AEW now that her Impact/TNA contract has expired.
Hoping the Mercedes signing for AEW is true. The only problem is that she gets the title here at some point soon, what do you do with a returning Jamie Hayter who should have that title around her waist than have to wait and wait again.
Have to also wonder if Deonna is a lock for AEW now that her Impact/TNA contract has expired.
Rumor is Elimination Chamber for Roman vs Rock. But the entirety of the Cody stuff on WWE is just... booking that would be obliterated if it was in AEW right now (anything after Wrestlemania where he has been put on a holding position of waiting a year to get the chance cause the win needs to be done in a Wrestlemania). A ton of the shit in WWE just "works" because WWE is hot right now.
I had read about the Elimination Chamber rumor. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out and Cody finishes his story at this years Mania or does he end up having to wait till 2025.
I expect Mone to do a significant ratings bump. but there's also no excuses if she debuts. She should be the shot in the arm the division needs as far as elevating all the other women, unless the division's booking issues are bigger than a lack of starpower. Hopefully we can see more serious feuds too for the women, which translate to big-fight feels that a lot of mens matches get.
I think someone like Mone will do a lot of good to bring everyone else up, much like how Punk came in and legitimized his opponents (Kingston/MJF) to a wider audience. As far as improving ratings/fanbase goes, Mone is worth the money
It's one of the things AEW has dropped the ball on twice with both Cody/Punk leaving. Cody had his own reality show too.
I think someone like Mone will do a lot of good to bring everyone else up, much like how Punk came in and legitimized his opponents (Kingston/MJF) to a wider audience. As far as improving ratings/fanbase goes, Mone is worth the money
It's one of the things AEW has dropped the ball on twice with both Cody/Punk leaving. Cody had his own reality show too.
Cody is a bigger star than he's ever been and the Rock/Roman stuff is clearly happening at EC and setting up Cody for Mania. The rematch has already been teased. Cody has been treated far better than the doom and gloom people predicted.
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Mercedes could win the TBS title first and have her take the World title off Jamie later. I would expect Deonna to have a run in ROH then cross over to AEW.
Pretty much all of this, and working with New Japan to make Okada an even richer man. The Rainmaker being a Main Event Wildcard would be fire.
My wishlist is big pushes for Swerve, Takeshita, Garcia & Hayter and at least 1 Stardom wrestler at Forbidden Door and WrestleDream.
Also for TK to put more effort into the women's division (the last few months have been better but still not enough) and for more fans to support the women instead of crapping on them which helps no one.
From Cagsideseats Toni vs Riho match rating poll where 0 out of 5 stars is in the lead at 18%:
"Riho is a size of a figure skater, not a professional wrestler. I've seen some gymnasts who are way bigger than Riho. Not sure why this match was on the PPV."
"Minus three stars. Holy shit. Riho is hot garbage."
These "fans" aren't even trying to hide their bigotry.
Also for TK to put more effort into the women's division (the last few months have been better but still not enough) and for more fans to support the women instead of crapping on them which helps no one.
From Cagsideseats Toni vs Riho match rating poll where 0 out of 5 stars is in the lead at 18%:
"Riho is a size of a figure skater, not a professional wrestler. I've seen some gymnasts who are way bigger than Riho. Not sure why this match was on the PPV."
"Minus three stars. Holy shit. Riho is hot garbage."
These "fans" aren't even trying to hide their bigotry.
In Ring she's amazing, out of the ring, her one real weakness is her promo ability, also Tony Khan needs to put his foot down and give her new music.
Mercedes is very good in the ring (perhaps not top Stardom talent, but like... who is, she is close enough) and has an amazing in ring presense and exudes charisma. Main problem is that sometimes her promo is just flat but she can sometimes coast just by how charismatic she can be.
Man, there is so much talent in (and soon to be in) AEW for a women's C2.
Athena, Deeb, Emi, Hayter, Kris, Mariah, Mone, Riho, Shida, Shafir, Toni, Willow....
....Yuka, Nyla, Tay, Ruby, Deonna, Skye Blue, Leyla, Julia Hart, Billie Starkz, Diamante.... and more.
If they go through with it I hope they can figure out how to run both C2s at the same time. That's gonna squeeze a lot of TV time, and probably lengthen the duration of the tournaments, but combined it would make for one hell of a season of TV.
Athena, Deeb, Emi, Hayter, Kris, Mariah, Mone, Riho, Shida, Shafir, Toni, Willow....
....Yuka, Nyla, Tay, Ruby, Deonna, Skye Blue, Leyla, Julia Hart, Billie Starkz, Diamante.... and more.
If they go through with it I hope they can figure out how to run both C2s at the same time. That's gonna squeeze a lot of TV time, and probably lengthen the duration of the tournaments, but combined it would make for one hell of a season of TV.
She's the best of WWE's Four Horsewomen (her, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Charlotte Flair) all around. Not incredible like Giulia's level of talent but Stardom is a step above everyone else TBH. Will certainly hold her own with the likes of Rosa, Shida, Emi, Stat, Willow, Athena, Hayter, etc.
Her glaring weakness is her promo work (as it is for Charlotte and to an extent a lot of the WWE women; Bayley was the best promo out of the Horsewomen)
It would also explain why they didn't bring Athena up yet, because Mercedes would have immediately stolen her spotlight. Now they can bring her up as a surprise challenger down the line.
I want the following things in 2024.
- Better storytelling and not dragging stuff too far, AEW are a great company and need to re-find their greatness.
- Jamie Hayter to be back and healthy
- Adam Coles story not to drag too far. Let them go doing other stuff. MJF return at end of Wembley show would be huge if he can get healthy in time.
- Joe to have a short run after all he's made a deal with the devil (you know what that means..)
- Stop defending every belt.. week in, week out. just defend them on the off chance and let them gain some prestige.
- Better storytelling and not dragging stuff too far, AEW are a great company and need to re-find their greatness.
- Jamie Hayter to be back and healthy
- Adam Coles story not to drag too far. Let them go doing other stuff. MJF return at end of Wembley show would be huge if he can get healthy in time.
- Joe to have a short run after all he's made a deal with the devil (you know what that means..)
- Stop defending every belt.. week in, week out. just defend them on the off chance and let them gain some prestige.
It's Tuesday. You know what that means. ❤️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Same ignorant assholes who would chant "boring" during matches like Eddie vs Rey back in the 90s because they were "vanilla midgets" or whatever. The toxic bullshit runs deep, unfortunately. And yeah, cult leaders like Cornette are giving small minded idiots new ways to hate.
But at least the wrassling fandom as a whole has made progress. Awesome talent like Riho are universally loved in communities like this and the AE-Dub fandom at large has clearly embraced her. So don't let a small subset of assholes in their miserable little corner of the internet hurt your enjoyment of good-ass wrassling. ❤️
Hey friend! So happy to see you in the new thread! Love ya. I hope everything is ok. 🫂
Same ignorant assholes who would chant "boring" during matches like Eddie vs Rey back in the 90s because they were "vanilla midgets" or whatever. The toxic bullshit runs deep, unfortunately. And yeah, cult leaders like Cornette are giving small minded idiots new ways to hate.
But at least the wrassling fandom as a whole has made progress. Awesome talent like Riho are universally loved in communities like this and the AE-Dub fandom at large has clearly embraced her. So don't let a small subset of assholes in their miserable little corner of the internet hurt your enjoyment of good-ass wrassling. ❤️
Hey friend! So happy to see you in the new thread! Love ya. I hope everything is ok. 🫂
I don't watch WWE so no idea how Mone was there, but I did see her against Mayu Iwatani at All Star Grand Queendom. She looked pretty good based on that one bout.
I hope money isn't the sole reason if she does indeed arrive in AEW. It would great for this to be the start of the women's division getting to the next level, and for her to be the spearhead for that.
I hope money isn't the sole reason if she does indeed arrive in AEW. It would great for this to be the start of the women's division getting to the next level, and for her to be the spearhead for that.
I think their best bet would be to make it for a title shot at any champion of their choice and a trophy. And to do it spaced out by like 6 months from when the Men's C2 happens. That way both tournaments are given time to breathe.
To me, the best way to prove how great a wrestler is is who they helped get over. In Mercedes case its:
The rest of the horsewomen (hell, women's wrestling in WWE tbh)
Bianca to a degree
Willow to a degree
Stephanie Vaquer
All would be doing quite worse without their matches with her.
So she's great. Has glaring weaknesses (injury prone at times, mic work), but when she's on, she's a game changer.
Couldn't have said it better.
Her promo at WK17 was cringe but she can wrestle her ass off.
Mercedes Mone fka Sasha Banks and Bayley have the first match in this compilation and then the follow-up to that match can be watched in full here. For those who haven't had the pleasure.
Mercedes is EASILY THE WORST out of any of the Horse women.
IM JOKING but get ready to see this take daily. I am happy my Mone watch may come to an end
HOT TAKE INCOMING, PROCEED WITH CAUTION
I love Kingston but he would do good to chill a bit with the AJPW homage stuff.
Occasional shout and move here and there is cool.
90% of your moveset being 4 pillars + Akiyama stuff, wearing Kawada colors and kickpads and them posing with the triple crown backstage like him less so
I love Kingston but he would do good to chill a bit with the AJPW homage stuff.
Occasional shout and move here and there is cool.
90% of your moveset being 4 pillars + Akiyama stuff, wearing Kawada colors and kickpads and them posing with the triple crown backstage like him less so
Mercedes was the wrestler WWE turned to whenever they needed someone to carry a match, or go *long*. If you like work rate, she should really be your favorite.
Haven't watched it yet but apparently Ibushi's main event match at NOAH was a dud. Ibushi botched a lot. I guess he broke his ankle and wrestled on it for 35 minutes?
I think he's done.
I think he's done.
I remember absolutely loving both of their matches back then.
Also a reminder that Izzy made her wrestling debut for Thunder Rosa's promotion last year. Would be funny if this moment got a payoff in an AEW ring in 2 years time when she turns 18 👀
View: https://streamable.com/zkk55t
Mercedes for me is one of the 3 greatest NA woman's wrestlers ever. For me the top 3 is in no particular order: Mercedes, Gail Kim and Mickie James.
After that reminder, it is now of vital importance to me that Mercedes signs at least a 3 year contract.
View: https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1741958924851392789?t=UGQvetHHzsjnCo2CMTZOng&s=19
That cross branding lol.
Nice reminder that media rights deal being finalised this year with WBD or somewhere else should hopefully be a good boost for the promotion whenever it does hit.
Crazy how Joey Janela is the only one who's managed to get a semi decent match out of Ibushi since he came back.
Apparently he broke it before even going into the match, which is insane that he was even allowed to wrestle at all. He was taken to hospital after so sounds like he injured himself further too.
MJF apparently trying to decide whether to rehab or have surgery on his shoulder, I think the Ibushi match this morning highlights the importance of these athletes getting these things treated properly.
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Here's what I'm thinking after Mariah's first match on Dynamite. After, Toni will take the mic and say that she's bored. She's beaten everyone, it's the silver age of the women's division as the stories have gotten old. Athena then returns, Toni is shocked. Athena talks about carrying ROH for over a year, but it's time to dominate AEW like she did in ROH. Then Saraya comes out, talks about how it's time to leave the Outcasts behind, and focus on the title. It's her time, she was invovled in a women's revolution before, and it's time again. Britt Baker's music hits, and she comes out, talks about how all of last year she was cast aside to give the womens division room to grow, but it hasn't grown. She's still the best, and now it's time to take the top spot. This leads to Thunder Rosa's music, she comes out and gets in the face of Britt, talks about how she never actually lost the title, and she's here to reclaim what is hers. Then it's Hayter time, Hayter returns and everyone is shocked. They all turn their attention to Toni, who says "Oh, this is it? No one else?" Mercedes' music hits, and everyone in the ring turns in shock. Mercedes comes down, gets into the ring in the middle while the rest back off. She grabs the mic, does a quick promo about why she chose AEW, Toni powders, and they all have a staredown at Toni at the end while Toni faints in the arms of Luther.
Whilst I don't think this is possible due to injuries, it would be a pretty fantastic way to build hype for the division.
Some people here just have a super hate boner for Cody. Cody going to WWE was the best decision for him.
She's great. I wouldn't say she's the best at any single aspect of pro wrestling, but she's greater than the sum of those parts. She understands ring psychology, character, is athletic, believable, and can go and put on bangers. I'd say she's one of the most important figures in evolving women's wrestling on this side of the Atlantic in the last decade. To top it off, she's only 31 at that. If she can stay healthy then she's got plenty left to give if she wants (sometimes, she's had the tendency to go too hard and possibly injure herself). She also has cross media appeal and could probably make a career elsewhere, but she seems to love wrestling.
If I had to make a list of acquisitions that AEW absolutely needs, she'd probably be at the top. They have a very talented women's roster that haven't been utilized to their potential. However, they don't have many "top gals" yet to build a better division around. Many are still too early in their career to be in that spot, and have plenty of grind ahead of them. Some have the character part down, but aren't great in my ring; and then we've got the other end of the spectrum with good wrestlers with one note personalities. With the amount of air time they get to develop, it's no surprise that the division has been spinning its wheels for so long. Mercedes has the star power to hopefully change that, because if she can't create the opportunity then I don't know who could.
If they get Mercedes and still can't improve things, then they only have themselves to blame.
Imagining Mercedes ragdoll selling for Hayter at a stage like Wembley has me pumped.
I definitely agree with these.
I want to keep the old school approach and identity to storytelling (heavy input from the wrestlers and no dedicated group of script writers). However, it's wrestling so shit happens like injuries. AEW have to learn how to pivot when things don't work out. Tony gets stubborn and will wait until the stars align so he can go through with his original idea. Like waiting for Statlander to heal and getting Jade's run of terror as a consequence. You've got to know when to hold em, and know when to fold em.
and there are too many damn title defenses. Plus these constant random matches to be number one contender. It kind of makes it all feel pointless.
She's probably the most unappreciative but to me, the best Horsewoman from the 4 is Becky Lynch. Watch the match last night with Nia Jax where Becky carried that woman to an actual compelling match.
Obviously it's a no brainer she is staying at WWE but man, imagine Becky at AEW and not only wrestling the women's division there but others all over the world.
