Mercedes Mone ended the year much better than she started with her performance on Saturday night at AEW World’s End 2024 against Kris Statlander. The “CEO” has been heavily scrutinized this year for her in-ring performances, which made fans wonder if AEW reportedly overpaying her was a mistake. The last quarter was up to Mone to quiet the noise, and she did that while inching closer to her former “Boss” self.
Mercedes Mone’s Injury Almost Ended Her Career
In May 2023, Mone severely injured her ankle against Willow Nightingale, which insiders thought would be a career-ending injury. Mone would take the appropriate time off from wrestling to rehab the ankle and not rush her comeback. It ended up paying off in the long run, but it was a very risky thing to do in the wrestling business. Most wrestlers rush back from an injury as if you don’t work, you don’t get paid, and if you are out of the ring too long, wrestling fans move on quickly.
Mone’s gamble worked, and she would make another big move almost a year after her ankle injury, which was to create a bidding war between WWE & AEW. She ultimately signed with the latter in a deal that was more than what the WWE was willing to offer. Mone’s signing to AEW came down to her being able to keep her business ventures outside of wrestling, which was a deal breaker for the WWE and their PG-13 product. When Mone debuted in her hometown of Boston in March on AEW Dynamite, she received a loud ovation, and her AEW career was off to the races.
Missing “The Boss”
Mone was back wrestling and making the most of her “CEO” character. When she actually got into the ring to wrestle, well, that’s when things weren’t as smooth as she may have wanted them to be. The matches weren’t good as Mone hesitated in executing her moves in the ring. You can see she wasn’t comfortable, and maybe a lot of it had to do with her ankle injury from the year prior. Regardless, she was still expected to perform as the high-level athlete AEW signed.
When thrown in with another veteran wrestler like Dr. Britt Baker, it was Baker working extremely hard to put Mone over, but the fans weren’t buying it. It wasn’t until Mone faced Statlander in November’s Full Gear that we finally began seeing Mone in her old form. Social Media and Wrestling websites were glad to see a glimpse of the old Mone, and it finally appeared that she was turning the corner from her injury.
Ironically enough, it took Mone to face Statlander again on Saturday night for her to really seem like she was all the way back. This had to be a sigh of relief for Tony Khan and the rest of the crew in the back as they were patiently waiting for the star they signed to show up, and she did it in a big way. The match showed Mone’s ability to adapt to an opponent twice her size. She showed strength, great awareness of the crowd and ensured the right facial expressions were given when the camera was on her. All things that the stars of the business do well.
2025 Is Looking Bright For The CEO
2024 had its challenges, but Mone has found her rhythm, and going into 2025, that is what you want to see from your top star in the women’s division. Mone is finally ready to carry the women’s division to the next level, as AEW has plenty of young talent that could benefit from Mone being a leader and putting them over. Now that Mone is almost at the “Boss” level, it’s now time to push her even more with a bigger storyline, which could lead to headlining a PPV in 2025.
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