Mercedes Moné Returns to AEW Wednesday Night on Dynamite

Update: She's back!

It was reported earlier in the day on Wednesday that Mercedes Moné was expected back in All Elite Wrestling imminently, and The CEO proved those rumors to be true when she arrived at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia for AEW Dynamite.

The former TBS Champion was revealed as the wild card entrant in the 2026 Women's Owen Hart Tournament, filling the spot that was originally slated for Mercedes' longtime rival Willow Nightingale.

C-E-O! C-E-O! @MercedesVarnado is BACK as the Wild Card spot vs @HailWindsor in the #OwenCup!

Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/JYfeKCmrN2
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 4, 2026

Mercedes went on to defeat Alex Windsor in her opening round match, avenging her loss from this past December. She'll await the winner of Persephone and Hazuki in the semifinals of the tournament.

The Men's and Women's Owen Hart Finals will take place at AEW x NJPW Fordbidden Door on Sunday, June 28. The winners will earn world championship opportunities at All In: London this August.

Moné now has the opportunity to win the Women's Owen Hart for the second year in a row. She won the tournament in 2025, but failed to defeat "Timeless Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at All In: Texas. You can read our original story about Mercedes from earlier Wednesday below.

Original: The wait for The CEO's return to All Elite Wrestling may be drawing to a close.

Mercedes Moné has not competed for AEW at all in 2026, but her hiatus from the company is expected to end relatively soon, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select.

"We were told that she was always planned to be out past AEW Dynasty," Ross Sapp said in a new report Wednesday evening. "It was reiterated to us that Moné is still under AEW contract, and is planned for a return to the company. We weren’t given specifics on a date, but that her involvement will have major ramifications for the top of the card in AEW."

Moné last wrestled for AEW during the special New Year's Smash edition of Dynamite. That was the night she lost her TBS Championship to Willow Nightingale. She went on to compete for a number of independent promotions in the early part of this year to drop many of the title belts she collected during her Ultimo Moné run of 2025.

Now without gold of any kind, Mercedes has been away from the ring entirely since the end March when she lost the WPW Women's Title to Jody Threat.

Regarding a potential return to AEW programming Wednesday night in Richmond, Virginia, Ross Sapp was unable to confirm if she was scheduled for the show.

"We haven’t heard that she’s been spotted at AEW tonight as of yet. Some of her moves were being practiced by someone else this afternoon, but to be fair, plenty of people do running knees these days. Alex Windsor also practiced with a placeholder in Will Ospreay today, we’re told."

AEW could certainly use Mercedes Moné with two of the company's biggest stars out of action

Mercedes Moné would give the AEW women's division a major boost following the loss of both "Timeless" Toni Storm and Willow Nightingale. Storm is expected to miss the rest of 2026 for undisclosed reasons, while Nightingale was forced to relinquish the TBS Championship due to a shoulder injury.

A new TBS Champion will be crowned on the July 1 edition of AEW Dynamite in a Survival of the Fittest Match, with qualifiers for that bout taking place over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, the Women's Owen Hart Tournament will continue Wednesday night on Dynamite, with Alex Windsor facing a wildcard opponent. While not confirmed, It would not be surprising to see Moné make her return in this spot. Mercedes has history with the former RevPro British Women's Champion, having dropped that very title to her back in December.

We'll know for certain in a few short hours.

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