AEW's Mercedes Mone Confirms Report That She's Been Medically Cleared Since December

AEW star Mercedes Mone has confirmed reports that she was cleared to wrestle in December but waited until Double or Nothing 2024 to get back in the ring.

Prior to Sunday's Double or Nothing, Mone said in an interview that she was ready to wrestle at the end of last year, but AEW CEO Tony Khan wanted to find the perfect spot for her debut. At the Double or Nothing post show media scrum, Mone stated that Khan asked her if she could wait a little while to make her in-ring debut at Double or Nothing, to which she gladly agreed.

"The beginning of the year, we talked, signed a deal, and made it happen, and we were really talking about, 'When was the perfect place and time for me to debut in the ring?' We knew March 13 [AEW Dynamite Big Business] was going to be amazing at the Boston Garden ... when Tony called me and said, 'I have the perfect place for you to debut. Boston, baby!' I was like, 'Tony, you are just speaking my language, you are just speaking the money,'" said Mone. "And then he said, 'We are celebrating AEW's five-year anniversary here at Las Vegas for Double or Nothing. Can you wait?' I said, 'Bi*ch, I've been waiting for a whole year, of course I can wait.' So this is the perfect place, the grandest place to make my in-ring debut."

In her first match in AEW, Mone won the AEW TBS Championship from Willow Nightingale, the same wrestler she faced in NJPW a year ago, which was her last match before Sunday's clash. Mone reportedly suffered an injury in the match with Nightingale last year, which was the reason why she was on the sidelines. In the post show media scrum, Mone also stated that she and Khan have been discussing her joining AEW for a long time.