Mercedes Moné’s angry exit from Detroit grabbed headlines this week, but a new backstage report reveals that AEW completely rewrote its Women’s World Championship story heading into All In: London.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Moné was originally supposed to walk into Wembley Stadium as champion, not as the challenger she has now become.
Meltzer explained that the current title picture is a reversal of the company’s earlier direction. The plan called for Moné to hold the AEW Women’s World Championship into All In, with Willow Nightingale attempting to take it from her.
The original Wembley was this match switched. The original Wembley was Mercedes as champion vs. Willow. So his plan was Mercedes being champion at All In,” Meltzer said.
The Plan That Flipped
What changed was who carries the gold into Wembley, not the matchup itself. Willow Nightingale beating Thekla at AEW Redemption for the AEW Women’s World Championship reshaped the story, putting the title on Nightingale rather than Moné.
The destination stayed the same. Moné and Nightingale were always headed for a collision at All In, but the roles reversed: instead of defending the championship, Moné is now chasing it from the woman she was originally booked to face as champion.
Tempers Flare In Detroit
The rewritten story played out on the July 29, 2026 episode of AEW Dynamite in Detroit. Nightingale opened the night celebrating her title win before Moné interrupted and demanded she sign the contract for their match at All In: London.
The exchange turned heated. Moné said Nightingale only became popular at her expense, while the champion fired back that Moné simply cannot win the AEW Women’s World Title.
The confrontation spilled into a brawl. Megan Bayne and Lena Koss of Divine Dominion arrived to help Moné attack Nightingale, but the champion had backup in Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor of The Brawling Birds.
The night soured Moné on the host city entirely. She vented her anger online and swore off returning to Detroit, adding that she had planned to stay for the AEW Collision taping but chose to leave the city as soon as she could.
