AEW Big Business Talking Points: Mercedes Moné Debut

Live from the historic TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, AEW made a bit of sports history on the 3-13-24 episode of Dynamite. The show opened with a major the Mercedes Moné debut, contained several stakes matches, and set the stage for the next era of AEW as a whole.

Mercedes Moné Makes Her AEW Debut

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The CEO is officially All Elite. As expected, Mercedes Moné made her AEW debut in stunning fashion, redeclaring herself a major player in the wrestling world. The jacket, the hair, the song, literally all screamed head honcho.

Moné felt a tremendous homecoming reaction from her new audience, who she profusely thanked for their support. In an emotional promo, Mercedes led fans on the story of her life and career, hitting all of the right notes. Moné said that she wants and needs to be in AEW and that she is excited to face everyone in the locker room. It seems that Moné will begin her time in AEW as a babyface, leaving her to face a number of heelish adversaries.

Moné made the proclamation that the Willow Nightingale vs. Riho match would be the main event of the Big Business episode of Dynamite, a clear statement of her intentions concerning the direction of her new division. The expectation is that Mercedes will completely revolutionize the oft-criticized AEW Women’s division, a lofty goal for any talent. Only time will tell if this desired change will occur, but for my money, I will more than gladly bet on the BO$$.

Willow Nightingale vs. Riho Main Events Big Business

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The anticipation of this match was built throughout the night by Mercedes Moné, who was seen backstage introducing herself to the inaugural AEW Women’s Championship Riho. Mercedes was not as friendly in her references to Willow, who had a previous encounter in a NJPW match last year.

Moné aside, styles make fights, and this power vs. speed showdown was full of style and substance. Two of the most lovable babyfaces in AEW showed that they had plenty of fighting spirit behind their usually smiling faces. Riho’s ability to counter Willow’s power moves was great a through line in the match. Willow did hit one of her best Pounce’s ever, sending Riho flying through the air.

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Willow was able to put Riho down for three with her stupendous gut-wrench powerbomb, which is one of my favorite moves in wrestling. This match was certainly main event-worthy and my favorite of the night.

Conspicuous by their absence were Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway. The Willow-Statlander-Stokely trio has been one of the most entertaining groups on television, and it will be highly interesting to see where the threesome goes from here. Willow has declared her intentions for TNT gold, currently held by the queen of scream Julia Hart. How will former champion Statlander feel about that?

Hart and Skye Blue attacked Nightingale after the match, which brought out Moné for a temporary assist. Mercedes is famously a backstabber, and Willow should certainly watch hers. The intrigue building throughout the women’s division is building to something special.

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The Elite vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta & PAC

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Six of the best in the world threw down in this superstar showcase. After several beatdowns in previous weeks, The King of the Bums Eddie Kingston aligned himself with 2/3 of Death Triangle in a valiant fight against this vengeful new version of The Elite.

From moment one, Kingston clearly wanted to get his hands on Okada, which sets up an interesting future singles matchup. When the two did face off in this trios match, the feeling was electric. The Elite were able to trap Kingston in the corner early, allowing for the EVPs and Kazuchika to triple-team the Mad King. The Elite’s early advantage was finally broken by the explosivity of Penta and PAC, who nailed their opponents with a number of high-impact maneuvers. The contest was full of the high-octane action that was expected. Some highlights included: an early hot tag by Penta, another Penta hot tag, and a final awesome Penta sequence. In other words, Penta is the best.

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After a back-and-forth battle, EVP Matthew Jackson nailed Kingston with a dirty low blow, setting up Okada to hit a picture-perfect Rainmaker. The bad blood in this contest is still felt by everyone involved, which is an exciting prospect for further development.

Samoa Joe Retains the AEW World Championship Against Wardlow

This beefy struggle saw plenty of chops, fists, and slams, as the two AEW brutes battled for title gold. Wardlow was able to gain an early advantage in the match, displaying his impressive athleticism as well as his strength.

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The ultimate veteran Joe kept cool and collected, picking his spots when they presented themselves. Overall, this match was a bit clunky, but the crowd was into the action. Samoa Joe was able to submit Wardlow with a chokehold, showcasing the champions’ well-established dominance.

In the post-match, a chain-wielding Swerve Strickland fought through security with malicious intentions. Joe smartly left the ring, further enraging Swerve. The two will likely have their anticipated singles match at the upcoming Dynasty event.