Mercedes Mone issues callout for AEW New Year’s Smash Dynamite
The first match appears set for this Wednesday’s New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite and it involves both two champions and a grudge.
During Saturday’s Worlds End pay-per-view, Mone and Athena failed to dethrone AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron. The end came when Mone was pinned by Nightingale on a counter roll-up after attempting a Mone Maker.
In a backstage interview later in the show, Mone destroyed her locker room in frustration before talking to interviewer Lexy Nair. Mone bristled at the question of having a bad 2025 after the last few months and then called out Nightingale for Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska, saying, “…I’m going to beat your f**king ass.”
It was confirmed later that the TBS title will be on the line.
The two have had an interesting past with Nightingale besting Mone in the May 2023 finals for the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s title when Mone suffered a leg injury. Mone then ended Nightingale’s first-ever TBS title run at May 2024’s Double or Nothing and hasn’t lost the belt since.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.