Mercedes Mone walked out of AEW Revolution with another successful title defense. He pushed her undefeated streak to 19 straight victories. During that match, another seed to an eventual feud against ATHENA was dropped as Billie Starkz watched that match from one of the arena boxes. Expectations are that Mone and Athena will lock up at AEW All-In and this is the match that must main event.
Back at AEW Worlds End, Mone and Kris Statlander set a record for the longest women’s match in AEW history. They battled for nearly 25 minutes in what was one of the best matches that evening. Mone made history that night, and she should be a part of another big moment in AEW at All-In on Saturday, July 12.
One of the only real criticisms about All Elite Wrestling is the booking of the women’s division. The promotion continues to only feature one women’s match per episode of AEW Dynamite, rarely going outside that trend. PPV cards have started to include two women’s matches, and with stars like Mone and Toni Storm at the helm as champions, it’s hard to avoid doing anything less.
Still, the women’s division is packed with the talent that deserves more. PPVs typically feature 10 or more matches, and yet Tony Khan continues to book as if there’s only room for four women per showcase. Not only is it time to go beyond that, but it’s time to put two women in the main event of a major show. Athena and Mone are the two women to do the job.
Athena and Mercedes Mone are the perfect duo to make history
Athena and Mercedes Mone are the perfect performers to put in this position. They are two women who are not only excellent in the ring, but fans are invested in everything they do in a way that majority of the roster does not experience. Mone drives legions of fans wherever she goes as the CEO, while the Forever Champion has been on an amazing run for the last few years. Other than Toni Storm versus Mercedes Mone to unify the titles, there’s no other women’s match who could carry the load of this moment.
There’s another layer to this conversation that can’t be ignored. Having two Black performers be the first women’s match to main event a PPV would not be ignored. AEW is looked at as an alternative to WWE and as that company struggles with booking performers of color in some ways, this would be a step to show AEW is willing to do the work WWE isn’t.
AEW All-In is going to be a big show, perhaps AEW’s biggest this year. Tony Khan has the opportunity to make the show memorable for all the right reasons by booking ATHENA versus Mercedes Mone in the main event.