AEW's Zayda Steel Plans To 'Run It Back' With Mercedes Mone

It's not often in professional wrestling that a performer gets to lock up with one of their idols, let alone getting that chance so early in their career. However, Zayda Steel got that chance on the August 15 episode of "AEW Collision" when she went one-on-one with the current AEW Women's World Champion Mercedes Mone. On the night, it was "The CEO" who picked up a routine victory as she was building momentum ahead of the match where she would win the world title from Willow Nightingale, but for Steel, it was a night she will never forget.

Steel opened up about the moment she wrestled Mone during a recent interview with MuscleManMalcolm on "Muscle Memory," admitting that she almost burst into tears just walking down the ramp. "My music hit and instantly I tried to hold back tears on my entrance," Steel said. "Like I've never blanked out that quick in a match. That was like my comfort wrestler you know? You know when you deal with a lot in life and you have your like comfort people? Mercedes was always that for me, and to get that early on year one, I haven't even been in AEW for a year and I got my dream match already. So I already know after year one, I'm only going to get better and better. So Mercedes, we're going to run it back."

Mone wasn't the only idol of Steel's that the 22-year old has had the privilege of facing in AEW throughout 2026 as she was also involved in a mixed trios match that saw her go up against Jon Moxley. Steel admitted that she used to edit videos of Moxley, and her first piece of wrestling merchandise was Moxley's when he wrestled in WWE as Dean Ambrose so she was extremely nervous, so nervous in fact that she believes she actually hurt Moxley's groin during the bout, but Steel is glad that she survived such a stressful ordeal.

Please credit "Muscle Memory" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.