Mercedes Moné wants to put to bed any rumors about her time away from AEW.
Whenever a performer is absent from wrestling for an extended period of time, people start to question what the reason might be. For better or worse, fans speculate.
Many questioned if there was a bigger story as to why Moné had been off TV for nearly the first-half of 2026, stepping away after dropping her TBS Championship to Willow Nightingale on a New Year’s Eve episode of Dynamite.
A week after making her return to TV, entering this year’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament with a quarter-final win over Alex Windsor, Moné cleared the air about why she was away.
She wasn’t pregnant, or leaving AEW, or injured. She simply wanted some time off after a busy 2025, she explained in her latest Moné Mag newsletter.
I’m back and I feel better than ever.
Almost 6 months away. I’ve never had a break that long that wasn’t due to injury and after 16 years it was the first time I got to truly relax and have no worries.
But one thing I realized during that time away?
I missed wrestling so much.
Especially that AEW.
While I was gone I saw all the rumors.
‘Oh she’s pregnant.’
‘Oh contract issues.’
‘Oh she’s leaving.’
‘Oh this.’
‘Oh that.’
Oh…
NOTHING.
Can I enjoy my vacation in peace?
Can a woman have a period and be bloated?
Can I enjoy my time off without speculation and rumors?
One thing I also learned is there’s nobody more impatient than wrestling fans.
Y’all are the type of people who look up the ending of a movie before finishing it. You love not being surprised. You love not being present and fully in the moment because you’re so caught up in the fantasy.
But now the wait is over.
While Moné didn’t appear on Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite, she’ll be back on TV next week when she meets STARDOM’s Hazuki in an Owen Hart Tournament semi-final match. If successful, Moné’s quest toward her elusive first reign as AEW Women’s World Champion will stay alive.
