Three years ago, Mercedes Moné was spotted in the crowd at All In keeping a close eye on the women’s division as she mulled whether she would make the jump to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Months later, Moné finally made her debut and took the AEW women’s division by storm. She later defeated Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship and started a reign that would last more than 500 days – that was until Nightingale defeated her on Dec. 31, 2025. It was the pretext for the feud that would begin when Nightingale captured the AEW Women’s World Championship and Moné won the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament.
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON OUTKICK
Mercedes Moné has a submission synched in at All In on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photography by Ricky Havlik)
On Sunday, Moné gave her blood, sweat and tears to finally win the AEW Women’s World Championship. She took full advantage of Nightingale’s broken hand, putting her in the Money Maker to make her pass out.
Moné was bloodied to start the match as Nightingale nailed her in the nose.
Nightingale tried to smile through the pain. She took out Moné with a suplex onto the mat outside the ring. She also hit a brutal pounce on Moné that sent her opponent into the referee. Both women used the knockdown to their advantage. Nightingale whipped the leather part of the belt against Moné.
It was a lot for Moné to overcome even as Nightingale dealt with the hand injury. At the end of the match, Nightingale completely ran out of gas and the referee called for the bell.
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Mercedes Moné won the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photography by Ricky Havlik)
Moné will begin her first reign as AEW women’s world champion, adding to her impressive resume in AEW. She’s been the aforementioned TBS champion and won the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament twice.
She might already have her first challenger.
High above Wembley Stadium, Thekla was watching closely. Thekla made her return to AEW programming earlier in the show. She lost the AEW Women’s World Championship to Nightingale at Redemption and hadn’t been seen until Sunday.
Willow Nightingale, current AEW Women’s World Champion, attends the premiere of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” Season 4 at BAM Harvey Theater in New York, N.Y., on Aug. 4, 2026. (Lev Radin/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect)
All Out is about a month away and it could very well mean that Moné and Thekla are lining up for an epic match in September.
