AEW
WWE has quietly acknowledged Mercedes Mone in a significant way ahead of WrestleMania 42, featuring the current AEW star prominently in a video compiling the 42 greatest WrestleMania moments in company history. Mone’s main event match with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 37 Night One — which saw Belair win the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a historic performance — was ranked at number 19 on the list.
The inclusion is notable given WWE’s complicated relationship with Mone since her controversial exit from the company in May 2022, when she and Naomi walked out before a scheduled Raw taping. WWE immediately branded both women disrespectful, a reaction that generated significant fan backlash at the time.
WWE’s History of Avoiding Mercedes Mone’s Name Makes This Acknowledgment Significant
The company has largely avoided mentioning Mone in the years since her departure. Earlier in 2026, a trailer for WWE: Unreal featured Becky Lynch discussing the Four Horsewomen of 2015 — and Lynch conspicuously mentioned all four members except Mone. The contrast between that omission and her inclusion in the WrestleMania moments countdown is striking, suggesting that when the historical significance of a moment is significant enough, even complicated relationships take a back seat. Mone has been away from WWE for close to four years and currently competes for AEW, making her number 19 placement in WWE’s own official WrestleMania countdown one of the more surprising developments in the lead-up to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
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