Mercedes Mone Responds to WWE Counter-Programming – As noted, WWE will air its WrestlePalooza event live on ESPN on September 20, the same date AEW is scheduled to present All Out: Toronto on pay-per-view. The timing has been viewed as another example of WWE intentionally counter-programming All Elite Wrestling.
In an interview with TV Insider, AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone was asked about WWE’s scheduling and whether she felt it was a concern. Mone dismissed the situation entirely.
“I don’t watch them. I don’t care about them,” Mone said. “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.”
Mone is scheduled to defend her TBS Championship at AEW & NJPW’s Forbidden Door this Sunday in London, competing in a four-way match against Alex Windsor, Persephone, and Bozilla. While that show will not go head-to-head with NXT, the timing is notable, as Forbidden Door takes place in the afternoon while NXT Heatwave is scheduled later that night in Massachusetts.
During her interview, Mone also discussed her influence within AEW creative, crediting the company’s women’s division for its growth and increased visibility.
“I work with whoever Tony wants me to work with,” Mone explained. “That’s why I’m ‘The CEO.’ That’s why I came here because I watched the women, and said, ‘This is the place for me to be because there is so much passion and drive.’ We legit have the greatest women’s division in all of professional wrestling. The best from Toni Storm, Athena, Kris Statlander, Willow, and I can go on and on and on. I really feel like the last year-and-a-half there has been such a shift in the energy with what we bring to AEW television. We’re getting more time, more matches and more in-depth storylines. It has been such great growth. Being a part of it has been so amazing for myself and my career.”
Mercedes Mone Responds to WWE Counter-Programming
