CE-NO: Mercedes Mone’s bad impact on AEW

I used to be a huge fan of Sasha Banks when she was in the WWE because I recognized what she and her Horsewomen brought. They were the forbearers of the women’s revolution for WWE and helped drag the promotions into the 21st century. She herself had banger matches, headlined the first WrestleMania between two women of African American descent and was one of the biggest stars in the company.

I adored Sasha Banks… but I am sick to death of Mercedes Mone and the CEO!

She is the bad free agent signing that has highlighted AEW and over a year an a half has become a big reason why the women’s division in AEW has floundered. It hasn’t been all her fault as Tony Khan had a big hand in that, but Mercedes bears a brunt of it.

What started off as something that people were looking forward to has now become something that turns AEW fans off. There have been breakdowns of how as soon as she comes on TV, fans change the channel and watch anything else.

Here are the major reasons why Mercedes Mone has become one of the worst free agent signings in all of sports.

SHE HAS CREATIVE CONTROL AND KNOWS HOW TO ABUSE IT

Before any of the AEW defenders or Tony Khan sycophants come after me and say she doesn’t, here is a clip where she tells TMZ she has it. Don’t believe me, watch the damn clip and then admit you are wrong.

Mercedes Monè confirms to TMZ Sports that she has Creative Control
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SquaredCircle

It was part of her deal to sign with AEW and as we have seen so far, she is admitting that she calls the shots over her character. From the people she wants to wrestle, having a big say on if she goes over or not, to how she is portrayed. The CEO is in complete control of how she comes across in all aspects of her while on AEW TV.

Its hurt all of her opponents as despite being heel, she goes over everyone cleanly. That’s right, the big bad heel (all 5’5 115 pounds of her) is beating everyone cleanly and then moving on. No cheating, long programs with anyone, no letting her opponents gain any heat and against even bigger women… she beats them cleanly.

Add to the fact she had her OWN WRITER (Jennifer Pepperman) hired by AEW and write her own stories and you get a woman who runs the show.

Remember when Shawn Michaels had TWO belts and people were up in arms… well Mercedes has been holding THREE BELTS among three different promotions and well on her way to winning the title from Toni Storm at All In in Texas.

Why does she have all these belts? Because she is the CEO and if she wants it, she gets it.

In every one of her feuds, all her opponents have had to praise her for being great wrestler and talk about how she “elevated the women’s division”. Not run her down or mock her nor even just talk about any of her failures or how she left WWE.

They must give her acknowledgement for greatness.

The drawback is that she has yet to have a long program where she has elevated anyone that she has faced. Hell, she has yet to lose by pinfall or submission in both AEW and NJPW.

In fact she only lost the NJPW Strong title because of a triple threat that SOMEONE ELSE BEAT HER.

Her latest segment at this past AEW Dynamite ended in her and Toni Storm having a “dance off”. Instead of letting the current AEW World Champion lay her out and leave her in the ring, she got to roll out and do her shimmy shake.

She could have easily allowed a talent like Harley Cameron or Mina Shirakawa to beat her for the AEW TBS title. To put ego aside and give the rub to another woman and help elevate her into the next level but to date.

It hasn’t happened and there is nobody in sight that is going to beat her due to her creative control it seems.

But that is just the top of the list of problems with Mercedes. Next one is a cold hard fact that nobody wants to acknowledge.

WOMEN’S WRESTLING TODAY HAS PASSED HER

Every ten years, you see a newer generation of talent surpass the abilities of their predecessors. Its simple evolution as athletes get younger, bigger, stronger and more athletic due to modern medicine, diet and training.

We saw it in the UFC where Ronda Rousey was a buzz saw who mowed women down as if she was cutting the grass.

And then came women such as Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes as Rousey became the past.

Mercedes used to be perhaps one of the top 4 wrestlers in the world at one point with her blend of skill and athleticism. Her matches with Bianca Belair, Bayley and Charlotte Flair were the zenith of her prowess. But now when you watch her compared to a lot of her newer contemporaries, you see how she is falling.

Check out NXT and look at the roster and ask where you would rater Mercedes based on pure talent. A roster with Stephanie Vaquer, Lola Vice, Jordynne Grace, Jaida Parker, Sol Ruca, Zaria, Lash Legend, and Kelani Jordan who all are better in ring performers.

And we are not even talking about the WWE with Rhea Ripley, Bianca, Jade Cargill and Iyo Sky to name just a few.

All of these women bring a blend of athleticism that Mercedes doesn’t have. Its not her fault as nearly everyone mentioned above came from other high-level sports and transitioned over to wrestling.

Meanwhile, Mercedes matches have exposed the fact that she cannot do certain moves as well because of her limitations. At the end of the day she is a smaller wrestler who doesn’t have the power of some of her counterparts nor does she have the athleticism.

Even her finisher, the Mone Maker, looks awkward and highlights the struggle for her to execute the move. Again, its not her fault that she is a smaller wrestler who doesn’t have the pure athleticism to pull off with others can.

Critics will point to the fact that her best matches in WWE were with high level talent who could hold their own or even elevate her. Check out the list of her best matches according to fans and peers and the majority are with Charlotte, Bianca, Becky Lynch, Bayley or Ronda.

You could argue that she is more the product of being with great performers rather than being a great performer.

NOBODY HAS BENEFITTED FROM WORKING WITH MERCEDES.

The irony should not be lost that while Mercedes loves to pay tribute to the late Eddy Guerrero, she has not done what Eddy was famous for.

Getting people over and helping make them an even bigger star.

Go back to Guerrero’s work in WCW/WWE and you can watch him elevate guys from good to great and great to superstardom. From understanding selling at the right time, knowing when to put people over to even just getting how to draw empathy for or against him.

As one wrestler once told me “Eddie could wrestler a mop and have people mesmerized and root for the mop”.

So far, Mercedes hasn’t done that with any of her opponents and often they either take a step back or go into the phantom zone that is catering.

Blame it on a combination of her creative control, her wrestling ability or the fact she is not letting people have their moment. But the undeniable fact is that Mercedes has yet to elevate anyone or make them a bigger star because of her.

Well anyone but Stephanie Vaquer but that is more on Stephanie getting out of dodge more than Mercedes.

Don’t believe me, just look at her last few opponents and ask if they came out of it with any momentum.

Harley Cameron went from rising midcard act to then doing a program under a mask to now a tag team where she puts her face in her tag partners butt.

Britt Baker came back from injury after being the face of women’s wrestling in AEW to now disappearing to catering.

Ditto for Hiraku Shida, Julia Hart, Athena and several others who got the one and done treatment.

Even Kris Statlander and Willow Nightengale took big steps back and never got back in the title hunt after facing Mercedes.

Its a troubling aspect when the big free agent signing sucks the air out of the room and doesn’t elevate anyone. Toni Storm at the very least helped make Mariah May and put her over to become a big rising force in AEW.

Mercedes has basically turned into Hulk Hogan and turned her opponents into the old Joe Louis line “Bum of the month club”.

Check out what Becky and Bayley have done or even Tess Blanchard did against Masha Slamovich. They elevated their opponents, played their roles to perfection and helped get them over as bigger stars than they were before.

The sad part is that Mercedes has nearly cleaned out the women’s roster and nobody has gotten over because of her. What many considered a talented and rising roster has been reduced to Mercedes and co.

Remember when Tony Khan called her the “greatest free agent signing”?

For all the accolades that have been thrown on her, for the big money she received and the creative control she got the facts are simple. Ratings have gone down since Mercedes has signed with AEW and she hasn’t helped the product grow.

You can try to spin it anyway you want, point to imaginary numbers or just make up lies. But Mercedes hasn’t brought in any new viewers, hasn’t helped bring in any social media influencers or even outside business to AEW.

She has launched a $99 dollar hotline, hung out with celebrities, and continued pursing acting all while working for AEW. But AEW has not benefitted from having Mercedes on the roster.

If you sign “a major free agent” usually it leads to big things for the company or team. When WWE signed Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, merchandise sales soared, interest in the company went up and the WWE has reached even bigger heights.

What tangible evidence do you have that Mercedes has improved the product or the brand?

Again, I have no problem with Mercedes getting paid nor do I have a problem with her success. It would be hypocritical and anyone in her position would take that deal in a heartbeat. I am all for wrestlers getting paid as this industry takes alot out of people.

But the fact is Mercedes has not helped AEW grow, stunted the women’s division, and been unable to turn around fan interest or drum up high ratings. The CEO has been a bust and her signing hasn’t done anything to help AEW as it tries to get back to respectability.

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