Mercedes Mone has said she wants to return to WWE one day. (Credit: Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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AEW went all in on its latest acquisition Mercedes Mone, and that could certainly bode well for every woman in both WWE and AEW.
According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Mone—known previously as Sasha Banks in WWE—was seeking “Becky Lynch-level money” while discussing a potential contract with WWE before ultimately opting to sign with AEW. While Mone’s desired contract ultimately caused WWE to “walk away” from negotiations with the former multi-time women’s champion, Mone was able to land what could be a trend-setting deal with AEW instead.
According to the WON, “A female WWE star said they heard the number was enough to make her the highest-paid woman in pro wrestling. This star was said to be thrilled at AEW making such an offer and happy Mone took it because it opened up a better market for female talent to earn top dollar.”
In other words, AEW—and Mone, in particular—may have broken the unofficial pay scale in women’s wrestling.
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For years upon years, the list of WWE’s highest-paid stars has been dominated by its male superstars, such as Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and John Cena. However, high-profile women’s wrestlers, ranging from Lynch to Charlotte Flair, have broken through that glass ceiling and changed the narrative regarding what it means to be a top star in professional wrestling.
Just last year, Flair, a 15-time women’s champion, signed a blockbuster contract that made her one of the highest-paid women in WWE history and rightfully so given all of the success she’s had inside the squared circle. Now, Lynch finds herself with an expiring contract and is in a great position to follow in Flair’s footsteps by landing an historic deal, one that will put WWE’s female stars on a more level playing field with their male counterparts.
In the ideal scenario, Mone’s AEW contract will set a new precedent, one that paves the way for women’s wrestlers in both AEW and WWE to cash in in a way that they haven’t throughout most of pro wrestling history.
That same star in Meltzer’s aforementioned report noted that Mone’s deal should be a “significant advancement for women” at a time when they can lay claim to being among the biggest stars in either WWE or AEW. That holds true for numerous world champions and main event caliber stars, such as Lynch, Flair, Rhea Ripley, Britt Baker and Saraya, but also for stars lower on the card.
Though Mone’s deal apparently falls short of the rumored $5 million per year payday, Mone’s AEW contract could force WWE’s hand. According to the WON (h/t WrestlingNews.co), AEW offered “more money than WWE” did to its three recent marquee signings in Mone, Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada.
As a result, WWE missed out on all three stars, including Mone, a proven draw in WWE whose AEW Dynamite debut topped one million viewers for the show-opening quarter hour this week. To put that into context, the show lost more than 370,000 viewers by its final segment, suggesting that fans tuned in to see Mone and then tuned out when they thought she was done for the night.
While other major women’s wrestlers have also demonstrated that they can be significant ratings draws, they are forcing AEW’s hand—and WWE’s hand too.
After all, especially in comparison to other pro athletes, WWE stars are woefully underpaid, a reality that has been even less kind to female stars. But heading into this year’s WrestleMania, matches like Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley and Bayley vs. Iyo Sky are among the most anticipated bouts on the entire card, which has become the norm in WWE over the past few years.
AEW has lagged behind in terms of its commitment to women’s wrestling, but Mone is widely viewed as a top-tier star who will bring sweeping changes to the way AEW President Tony Khan presents the company’s women’s division. Those changes are bound to extend to WWE too, with Lynch, a free agent-to-be, now able to use Mone’s deal as a launching pad for any contract negotiations with WWE.
Arguably the biggest and most successful women’s wrestler in WWE history, Lynch is perhaps in a class of her own, but Mone isn’t far behind as one of the most recognizable wrestlers—whether male or female—not just in wrestling but in the world of pop culture.
As more women’s wrestlers have begun to establish themselves as pivotal acts in WWE and AEW, Mone’s deal is just the beginning. More blockbuster contracts should be on the horizon, and all women’s wrestlers will be better off because of it.
