All Elite Wrestling has a stacked women’s roster. With the additions of individuals like Megan Bayne, the group continues to add performers who can stand at the top of the division. But few would argue that Mercedes Mone is the star of the women’s division, and perhaps the entire company. Mone remained undefeated in 2024, but there’s a growing expectation that she’ll drop the “Belt Collector 2.0” gimmick and start to lose titles in 2025. If anyone is going to take the AEW TBS Championship from around her waist, that woman is ATHENA.
ATHENA is riding the wave of one of the most important runs in women’s wrestling. As of this writing, she’s 773 days into her run as Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion. ROH has one of the most storied histories in professional wrestling, and Athena has the accolade of holding the world championship for the longest amount of time, regardless of gender. Even though all that reign has been on Honor Club and not on television, Athena’s fanbase has been very vocal about their support for the “Forever Champion.”
While all the blame for Athena not being on television falls to Tony Khan, that can be quickly remedied by welcoming her to the main roster at some point in 2025. Mercedes Mone and Athena were involved in several multi-person matches when their tenures in WWE overlapped, but they’ve never faced off in a one-on-one match. This is why putting this contest together in AEW at this time is one of the most important feuds that the company can put together.
Mercedes Mone has made a career of making others. While her fans don’t always appreciate that she’s been so giving with her stature, one time it was widely celebrated was when she dropped the title to Bianca Belair back at WrestleMania. That was seen as one of the most important moments in wrestling history. AEW could have its own moment by giving Mone and Athena the main event of AEW All-In, setting the stage for Athena to get a major victory over the superstar performer. That would open the door for Mone to do other things and eventually chase after the AEW Women’s World Championship, while Athena goes on an excellent run of her own.
AEW has a strong women’s division – that’s a fact that cannot be argued. But it’s hard to find an individual ready to take the TBS Championship from Mercedes Mone in a compelling story. Tony Khan doesn’t need to look far though. Just look at Thursdays and on the internet where he’s kept Athena for far too long. She’s the woman ready to set AEW ablaze by taking that title from one of the biggest names in wrestling.