Well, it’s official, WWE’s main roster premium live events will be going against AEW pay-per-views. WWE announced this past Wednesday that its first PLE to air on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer (DTC) service is Wrestlepalooza. There were rumors earlier this month that it was going to happen, but confirmation didn’t happen until this week. The WWE PLE is going to be on September 20, the same day as AEW’s All Out pay-per-view. In a recent interview with Scott Fishman of TVInsider, former WWE Superstar and current AEW TNT Champion Mercedes Mone opened up about WWE counter-programming AEW events.
Mercedes Mone Weighs In On AEW Vs. WWE
The former WWE Superstar was pretty blunt after she was asked about her thoughts on the matter. It seems that Mone is very loyal to AEW and doesn’t think that the company has much to worry about when going against WWE. She said:
“I don’t watch them. I don’t care about them. I’m ‘Eight Belts Mone.’ I’m a champion of so many different companies. So, the more the merrier. If they want to put on wrestling shows while we have wrestling shows, I’m always going to be better. I’m always better. That’s why I call myself “The CEO.” They can keep on doing whatever they want to do, but AEW is taking over. If you want to watch the best, good wrestling, watch AEW.”
This Sunday, August 24, at Forbidden Door, Mercedes will be defending the AEW TBS Title against Persephone, Alex Windsor, and Bozilla. While the main roster PLEs don’t start going against AEW until September 20, WWE has been running NXT PLEs against AEW PPVs for some time now. The same day as Forbidden Door is NXT Heatwave.
A Look Back At Mercedes Mone’s Infamous WWE Exit
WWE fans know Mone under the ring name Sasha Banks. Mone left WWE in a controversial fashion — she and Naomi were both the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time and walked out on the company. It was in May 2022 when the incident happened. At the time, both Naomi and Mone were advertised for RAW’s main event, but right before the show, they left. Here’s WWE’s original statement on the matter:
“When Sasha Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena this afternoon, they were informed of their participation in the main event of tonight’s Monday Night Raw. During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out. They claimed they weren’t respected enough as tag team champions. And even though they had eight hours to rehearse and construct their match, they claimed they were uncomfortable in the ring with two of their opponents even though they’d had matches with those individuals in the past with no consequence. Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight’s main event.”
So, while Naomi would eventually return to WWE, such was not the case with Mone. After leaving the company, Mone made her NJPW debut at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023. More than a year later, in March 2024, Mone would make her AEW debut, and that’s where she is now. Though she does wrestle on indie shows too, hence why the star currently has a total of eight titles. So the CEO isn’t afraid of a little competition.
