Mercedes Martinez On Why Current ROH Women’s Title Run Is ‘Full Circle’

After years of being on the move with several promotions, Mercedes Martinez feels right at home as the ROH Women's Champion. On the latest episode of "Complex Unsanctioned," Martinez talked about the serendipity of her holding a title from a promotion she first worked for back in 2006.

"It feels good to be honest. What people don't realize is that I've been in this business for almost going on 22 years right now," Martinez made clear. "It's a blessing and a curse at the same time, right? But when I first started at Ring Of Honor there wasn't really a women's division. There were females there wrestling, but it wasn't considered an actual women's division," she said.

The first Women's Title in ROH was introduced in December 2017 with Sumie Sakai being the inaugural champion. Since that went down, Martinez kept busy wrestling for Shimmer, WWE, Impact, and AEW before officially signing on with AEW at the tail end of last year. Martinez first became the Interim Champion in Dallas during Supercard of Honor in a battle with Willow Nightingale and then later became the Undisputed Champion after defeating Deonna Purrazzo on the May 4 episode of "AEW Dynamite." 

"For me to still be wrestling and for Ring of Honor to have this division and actually have a title to say, 'Hey, you guys now take the spotlight,' and for me to hold this title is kind of like full circle. It's a blessing and I just want to be able to have this title and really do it justice as best as I can with the opportunities that I get under the AEW banner. It's something really special, I hold it dear to my heart. With all the championships that I've held, this one probably means the most right now to me."

Martinez just recently teamed up with Serena Deeb on this week's "AEW Dark: Elevation" to defeat Miranda Gordy and Tootie Lynn.

If you use any quotes from this article please credit the "Complex Unsanctioned" podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.