AEW Star Mercedes Mone Discusses Her "Darkness" After WWE Exit

Zack Heydorn | Feb 26, 2025

All Elite Wrestling - Lee South

AEW TBS Champion, Mercedes Mone says that she considered leaving the wrestling industry after her time with WWE ended.

In a new interview with Katee Sackhoff, Mone opened up on how she felt after her tenure with WWE infamously blew up. Mone said at the end of her run in WWE, what used to bring her enjoyment, brought her sadness.

"I did (consider leaving wrestling). I did because of how hurt I was by it and how much it drove me into a place of darkness. I couldn’t believe something that brought me so much light in my life, that saved me so many times when I was a kid, brought me so much darkness. I was just like, I don’t want to feel like this, I don’t want to have so much stress where I’m legit killing myself because all of the stress that I’m creating or the sadness that I’m bringing to myself because of this bad mental talk my head. So, just a lot of healing, just a lot of healing and I told myself no, this is still what I freaking love, I love wrestling and I still have the same goal of when I was 10 years old and no one’s going to take that away.

- Merceds Mone (h/t Fightful)

Since leaving WWE, Mone has made plenty of waves in the wrestling industry. She's worked all around the world for promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling, CMLL, AEW, and others. She holds multiple championships in many of those very promotions.

Mone signed with AEW in 2024 and made her debut for the company in March. She is the TBS Champion and has yet to lose a match since joining Tony Khan's company.

Mone will defend her TBS Championship against Momo Watanabe at the upcoming AEW Revolution PPV on March 9. AEW Revolution emanates from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Other announced matches on the show include Jon Moxley vs. Cope for the AEW World Championship and Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher in a Steel Cage Match. Kenny Omega will also wrestle for the AEW International Championship.

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