Mercedes Mone is openly daydreaming about sharing the ring with a longtime friend. The CEO posted a fantasy match graphic to her Instagram story this week, mocking up a singles bout against Bayley for AEW WrestleDream 2026 in October.
The graphic is not an official announcement. It is a fan-style poster Mone shared herself, picturing the two stars on opposite sides of an AEW Women’s World Championship match card. Mone won the 2026 Owen Hart Cup at Forbidden Door on Sunday and is set to challenge Thekla for that title at All In in August, so she does not currently hold the belt the graphic suggests is on the line.
One detail gives away why this is a fantasy and not a booking. The poster lists Bayley under the name “Davina Rose,” the ring name she used early in her career before WWE repackaged her. Bayley remains under WWE contract, so Mone cannot legitimately advertise her by name for an All Elite Wrestling event. The wink is the point.
This is not the first time Mone has floated the idea. Last year she called a final match with Bayley her dream before retirement during a social media Q&A, while acknowledging the promotional barriers in the way.
The timing is what makes the latest tease more than idle fun. Multiple reports indicate Bayley’s WWE deal is set to expire at the end of 2026, with WWE and TKO reportedly interested in re-signing her. No new agreement has been reported as of this writing.
Mone and Bayley came up together as part of the Four Horsewomen alongside Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and the two have stayed close since Mone left WWE in 2022. Their NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn match in 2015 remains one of the most influential women’s bouts in modern WWE history.
For now it stays a fantasy. Bayley is currently in a storyline on Raw, where she was betrayed by tag partner Lyra Valkyria, a turn that fits a character she has said her heel work helped revive. She is not signed to appear at WrestleDream. Whether Mone’s graphic is a genuine recruiting pitch or two friends having fun online, it lands at a moment when Bayley’s future is an open question.