In the wrestling world, there is a notion that if one wins too much, they are hurting the opponent that they have defeated. The sentiment is doubled if that athlete is a woman. A woman in wrestling is expected to win once or twice and be grateful. To want more is to be labeled a spotlight hog, greedy, or God forbid, "insert name" Hogan.
However, something that is often overlooked in the discourse surrounding Mercedes Moné's fifteen-year career is her desire to help women's wrestling grow by facing the best of the best. Any woman who has stepped up to the prolific star has brought their A-game to prove their worth and define their own legacies. The determination, drive, and passion of the decorated champion mixed with any of her opponents creates entertaining rivalries, heated battles, and modern classics. These are the top 10 matches of Mercedes Moné's career.
10. Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey, Raw Women's Championship, WWE Royal Rumble, January 27, 2019
One of the best qualities that Mercedes possesses is her pure passion for the craft of wrestling. Because she has sacrificed so much for her dreams, Moné tends to question those who step into her arena without the same drive. As Ronda Rousey rose to prominence as the Raw Women's Champion, she silenced those who expressed doubt in her abilities by challenging the best of the best. But after ruffling feathers by speaking negatively about the business, Mercedes made it her mission to teach the UFC Hall of Famer a lesson in respect.
At the beginning of the match, Rousey sought to show off her wrestling acumen by attempting to execute the Three Amigos suplex series, multiple body slams and even leaping over Moné as she charged towards her in one of the ring corners. But Mercedes proved that doing your homework can go a long way as she cleverly escaped many of Rousey's attempts at her signature submissions, as well as creating a variation of a strait jacket hold that took the then-undefeated champion's breath away.
There was even a point when the former Sasha Banks countered the Piper's Pit, targeted Rousey's injured right arm with her own armbar, and bit her fingers for punishment's sake! After trading punches, battling out of backstabbers and Fujiwara armbars galore, Rousey would defeat Moné by landing a final Piper's Pit to the fatigued wrestling veteran. Though Mercedes lost this match, her creative innovation was on full display as she sought to humble the multi-hyphenate star. She proved that if an athlete wants to step into her world and make their mark, they will have to test their passion against hers.
9. Mercedes Moné vs. Willow Nightingale, TBS Championship, AEW Double or Nothing, May 26, 2024
In May 2023, Mercedes Moné was on the precipice of making history in the New Japan STRONG Women's Championship tournament. But though she was the favorite to win the new title, fate would take a different turn as she sustained a career-threatening injury in the final match against Willow Nightingale. After a year of healing, Moné would reemerge as the newest signee to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
After the Babe with the Power won the TBS Championship from Julia Hart, Moné became a heat-seeking missile that sought to destroy the woman who kept her from achieving glory on another global stage. But Willow did not back down in the face of Mercedes's star power as she sought to solidify herself as a credible champion who represented the best of what AEW could be.
Their match at Double or Nothing could have made history as the first women's main event in AEW history, with the amount of passion that both ladies brought. Because Willow's arsenal is a mixture of power and technique, Moné sought to outsmart her by evading her hardest blows and targeting the limbs that keep the smiley star grounded. Willow would prove her weight in gold, however, by fighting through the pain of the CEO's submissions and delivering her patented shoves, pounces, and a suplex targeting the knee to knock the wind out of Moné's sails. But once the determined Mercedes got her second wind, she proceeded to attack Nightingale's legs, escape a doctor bomb, weaken her with a Statement maker, and win the TBS Championship with a Moné maker. The prolific icon got her lick back and a title to go with it.
8. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair, Inaugural WWE Women's Championship, WrestleMania 32, April 3, 2016
On Monday, July 13, 2015, the then-Divas division got an adrenaline shot with the debuts of three of the Four Horsewomen in Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Mercedes Moné. Throughout their time on the main roster, all three women aligned with factions and battled each other for the Divas Championship. But once WrestleMania 32 rolled around, there was an intentional shift in how the women were going to be presented. Starting that weekend, they would be referred to as "Superstars" like their male counterparts, and a brand-new WWE Women's Championship would be on the line in a triple-threat match between the three starlets who ushered in a new era.
Before the match, Mercedes, Becky, and Charlotte received star treatment by being given elaborate entrances that fit their personas at the time. Moné had the distinction of having her cousin and WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg perform a newer version of her theme song as she strutted in Eddie Guerrero-inspired gear.
Mercedes impressed throughout with a Mexican arm drag/hurricarana combination on Flair, a frog splash on both ladies that Latino Heat would be proud of, and a suicide dive front flip onto The Queen. These three women found ways to steal the show throughout the match as Charlotte hit her now-signature moonsault from the top rope and the former Lass Kicker executed a beautiful flying dropkick to Moné while she was on Flair's shoulders. After being willed by the fans who supported her, Mercedes did find an opening by locking Becky in a final Bank Statement, but that served as an opening for Charlotte to toss her into the clutches of her father, Ric Flair, to secure her submission victory as the inaugural Women's Champion. Though the persona of Sasha did not win, she solidified herself as a force to be reckoned with.
7. Mercedes Moné vs. KAIRI, IWGP Women's Championship, New Japan Pro Wrestling Battle in the Valley, February 18, 2023
After her courageous walk-out of WWE, many wondered if they would ever see Mercedes wrestle on a large platform again. She would make her mark in fashion and walk red carpets, as many pundits claimed to have the answer to her next move. But on the night of January 3, 2023, all rumors would be put to rest as the superstar would make her New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom debut as the CEO we know today. She would go on to attack Kairi Sane and declare her intention to pursue the IWGP Women's Championship. Within days of the announcement of the Battle in the Valley match, the event sold out in record time. Her star power was evident, but the world was waiting to watch her adapt to the strong style environment.
The audience was surprisingly split as both women battled for control in the early part of the match. Mercedes got the upper hand by springing off of the middle rope and shifting Sane into a Statement Maker as a warning of her possible end. And though Kairi would fight Moné off with her hard dropkicks and signature elbows, Mercedes sought to dismantle her opponent with her newly acquired skills from Mexico and Japan. She was not above using dirty strategies either. Mercedes would target Kairi's elbows with stomps and twist them into the ring posts. There was even a sentimental part of the match in which Moné executed a Bayley to Belly suplex in honor of her Role Model bestie. But after multiple submissions from both ladies, scouting each other's offenses and a table slam, Mercedes would find the will to persevere and win her first international championship. In this match, Moné showed that her magic transcends all doubt.
6. Mercedes Moné vs. Stephanie Vaquer, New Japan Pro Wrestling Resurgence STRONG Women's Championship Tournament, May 21, 2023
After Mercedes lost the IWGP Women's Championship to Mayu Iwatani at STARDOM's All-Star Grand Queendom, she directed her energy towards a new goal. New Japan Pro Wrestling commissioned a new title that sought to give new chances to North American women wrestlers. The inaugural New Japan STRONG Women's Champion would be crowned in a single-elimination tournament at their annual Resurgence pay-per-view in Long Beach, California. The CEO was coming into this opportunity with a sense of strength and comfort after making history in many first-ever matches. But this time, she would need to get past talent that she had never faced before, one of them being the then-rising CMLL star Stephanie Vaquer.
Though Mercedes tried to assert her dominance at first lock-up, Vaquer showed that she was not to be trifled with as she kicked the veteran back and executed a backflip pin attempt. After both ladies traded leg sweeps, arm drags, headlock takedowns, and mirroring each other's offenses, Moné and Vaquer landed in a quasi-superhero stalemate as the audience applauded. The aggression of the match intensified as heads were slammed, and hands were stepped on! The ladies were challenging each other greatly as they hit each other harder and harder with double knees and clubbing blows. Stephanie even executed her now-famous Devil's Kiss to stun Moné in the middle of the mat. But Mercedes would use her ring awareness, resilience, and Moné-making skills to get the upper hand over La Primera and advance to the finals of the tournament. This match stands as a star-making performance for Vaquer and another modern classic feather in the cap of Moné.
5. Mercedes Moné vs. Athena, Semi-Finals of the 2025 Women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament, AEW Dynamite: Spring BreakThru, April 17, 2025
On Mercedes's quest for gold in AEW and other promotions around the world, she found herself in the 2025 Women's Owen Hart tournament. The road to the AEW Women's World Championship brought her to a familiar sister-in-arms in the Fallen Goddess and Ring of Honor Women's World Champion Athena.
With every door that they have opened for women in wrestling, they have surprisingly never faced each other one-on-one. When Moné and Athena made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, they had an opportunity to deliver a match on a night when AEW reached a television milestone in surpassing World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Night Nitro as the longest-running primetime weekly wrestling show in Turner Sports history. Women's wrestling on TBS and TNT has come a long way since the Nitro Girls.
Passion and vitriol filled the atmosphere as both women locked up and shoved each other out of the ring. Both ladies grappled for dominance in the beginning with shoulder tackles, leg sweeps, and multiple pinning combinations. There was even a special part of the match where Athena and Mercedes shifted each other's weight as they rolled around the ring in cradle pins. As the CEO sought to use her arsenal to get the upper hand, Athena's fast pace and hard hits proved that Moné would have to adjust her strategy. Both women upped the ante with Athena hitting her O-Face from the apron and Mercedes escaping the Fallen Goddess's grasp by shifting into a Code Breaker! Athena would battle back into the match with her own series of backbreakers to Moné, but the crafty golden warrior would sneak her own small backbreaker to shift the momentum her way. The match would be a brutal tug-of-war until Mercedes had Athena's O-Face scouted and shifted it into a pin to move forward in the Owen Hart Tournament. This match was championship-worthy.
4. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch, NXT Women's Championship, WWE NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, May 10, 2015
In 2015, the mainstream wrestling world was getting to know Mercedes as Sasha Banks. She, along with her fellow Horsewomen, was continuing the work of bringing women's wrestling to the forefront and proving their worth in the gritty brand. During their rise to fame, Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Mercedes would align and fight with each other multiple times to assert their dominance over the then-NXT Divas division.
Mercedes sought to give a helping hand to a rising Lass Kicker by advising her to be more aggressive to reach the top. It mirrored the same advice that Danielle Moinet (FKA Summer Rae) gave Moné when she started her journey. Becky and the Legit Boss would form Team BAE (Best at Everything) and attack anyone who stood in their way until Lynch stood in the way of Mercedes winning the NXT Women's Championship. After Becky saw the writing on the wall, they would clash in a one-on-one matchup that would shake the foundation of Full Sail University.
Amid a split and outspoken Florida crowd, Moné and Lynch got aggressive and creative in the early going. Over the years, the wrestling fandom would hear Becky brag about taking the arms of her opponents. It could be argued that that mindset began in this bout! Lynch found so many ways to rip Mercedes's arm off, and if it were not for the CEO's ring awareness, the match could have ended fairly early. But Moné started to match Becky's energy by being calculated and vicious to her arms with apron attacks and a strait jacket hold. She would even target Lynch's arm with her patented double knees. Moné sought to punish the then-steam punk queen for even looking at her NXT Women's title. Though Becky's explosive nature and technical prowess brought more fight to her opponent, Mercedes's quickness and her Statement Maker would allow her to retain the championship. Becky proved to be an all-star to watch after this match, but Moné would maintain her crown of black and gold.
3. Mercedes Moné vs. Hazuki, New Japan STRONG Women's Championship, New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong Style Evolved, December 15, 2024
After winning the AEW TBS Championship from Willow Nightingale and defeating Stephanie Vaquer in a winner-take-all match to become the New Japan STRONG Women's Champion, Moné would continue her golden era by defending the purple strap against the best Japan had to offer. She would meet a familiar foe in the four-time Artist of Stardom and one-time High Speed Champion Hazuki. They had faced each other before in triple threat action against AZM during Mercedes's reign as the IWGP Women's Champion at New Japan's Sakura Genesis in 2023. Both women had two differing motivators: Hazuki regaining her confidence after multiple championship losses and Moné putting the ghost of her career-threatening injury at the Walter Pyramid behind her.
This match had a quick start as Moné adapted to Hazuki's high-octane athleticism. But the Japanese star also showed a vicious streak as she gave a series of kicks to Mercedes's face, a DDT, and multiple suplexes. Hazuki would even get the best of Moné with three suicide dives in a row as she sought to tire her out. But Mercedes showed that she was game for a fight as she traded a flurry of punches and disrespectful slaps to her opponent. Hazuki would battle back with an avalanche brain buster and a cross face that showed just how far she would go to become the new champion. Moné, however, battled out of every atomic drop and submission to stay in the fight. And even when Hazuki kept finding a way out of her grasp, Moné would hit one final Moné maker to retain her championship. If you are a fan looking for a barn burner in the career of Mercedes, this is the one!
2. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair, SmackDown Women's Championship, WWE WrestleMania 37: Night One, April 10, 2021
WrestleMania has not exactly been the kindest to Mercedes Moné. Though she collected many accomplishments throughout her career, she has only won once at the Showcase of the Immortals. But spiritually, Moné has won twice if her main event match with Bianca Belair in 2021 is considered. After defeating her best friend Bayley for the former SmackDown Women's Championship and proving her power as a successful defender, Moné found herself in the crosshairs of The EST of WWE. Though the journey was not the greatest, both Belair and Moné found themselves breaking a glass ceiling by becoming the first Black women to be featured in the main event of WWE's flagship premium live event. Mercedes sought to knock the Southeastern Conference (SEC) athlete down a peg as the veteran, and Bianca wanted to build her legacy as a star of the future.
Mercedes sought to show her comfort in these big match situations by embarrassing Belair with shoves, takedowns, and smack talk. But she found herself taken aback by the resilience, unshakable confidence, and strength of the standout. Mercedes may not have been prepared for how sharp her opponent was, but she used whatever form of craftiness she could to gain an advantage. Moné would use Bianca's braid to pull her into hard kicks and lift her knees to counter Belair's 450 splash attempt. Mercedes would proceed to reach new levels of anger and frustration as she kicked Belair, hit a Tornado DDT, and used the braid to add more pain to her Statement Maker. But she played with Belair's hair one too many times and paid for it. Though Mercedes lost, she gained so much by being a part of a match that will live on in the hearts and minds of Black women who want to follow their dreams.
1. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, NXT Women's Championship, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, August 22, 2015
In NXT, Mercedes had found her groove as the heelish "Legit Boss." After she defeated her fellow Horsewomen for the NXT Women's Championship, she proceeded to blaze through their women's division and get called up to the main roster. But before she was set to move on to greener pastures, Moné had one more mountain to climb in the form of Bayley.
After losing multiple championship matches, everyone's favorite Hugger was deeply motivated to prove that she was more than just the nice girl who truly loved wrestling. Bayley even called out the fact that Moné was exactly the same, except she hid behind a more aggressive persona to survive. The ladies would have their match placed second-to-last on the NXT Takeover card, but that came with a caveat: Bayley and Moné were advised not to perform on a level that would outshine the men. That was a hurdle that many women in WWE faced, but Mercedes and Bayley decided to buck the system. They may not have known it at the time, but how they performed that night in New York would change women's wrestling forever.
When Mercedes made her opulent entrance, she sought to feed into the doubt that Bayley could be a star under these bright lights. When the bell rang, her words were vicious as she sought to tear into the future Grand Slam Champion's heart and morale. But she would realize that her insults only fed into Bayley's drive and focus. For every classic move that Moné would try to execute, the Hugger would have it scouted. Once Mercedes realized this, she proceeded to attack Bayley with neck twists and double knee strikes from the top rope. She also tapped into a trait of brutality that would become synonymous with her offense as she unwrapped Bayley's injured right hand and slammed it between the steel steps. Moné would also memorably backflip over the referee and the top rope onto Bayley outside of the ring! Mercedes's savage attack would continue as she proceeded to lock in her Statement Maker while stomping on her opponent's injured hand. But Bayley reversed that pain onto the Boss in a transition that shook the Barclays Center to its core.
After both women gave everything they had, Bayley would get the better of Mercedes by hitting a hurricarana and another Bayley-to-Belly suplex to finally win the NXT Women's Championship. Though Mercedes was on the losing end of the spectrum, she was able to celebrate the match with the new champion, her star-crossed rival Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch as they fully internalized what they had accomplished in NXT.
There is no doubt that this is the greatest match of Mercedes's storied career due to how well it has aged and how it has inspired athletes and fans alike. It can be argued that Mercedes and Bayley reinvigorated women's wrestling by being bold enough to perform so well that the world had no choice but to take notice. Each time Mercedes Moné wrestles, she shows that a rising tide moves all ships. When others see her excellence, it inspires them to bring more of themselves to the occasion of facing her. Her matches are master classes in pure wrestling greatness. Though many may not understand Moné's motives, her greatest legacy will be her passion for women's wrestling and how she seeks to lift up those who carry the same fire. And as long as her fire burns, her in-ring legacy is undeniable.