Mercedes Mone paid homage to WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, and she was quick to respond.
The AEW WrestleDream 2026 pay-per-view featured The CEO defending her AEW Women’s World Championship against Thekla. Mone entered the match wearing her protective face mask due to her nose injury and delivered a spectacular showdown. As seen in the final moments, Mone removed her mask and used it as a weapon to strike Thekla.
This was a beautiful homage to Trish Stratus from her iconic main event match against Lita on RAW in 2004. A frustrated Stratus was outside the ring when she took off her mask and used it to attack Lita. Furthermore, Stratus noticed Mone’s tribute and took to her X to respond. You can check out the clip and her response below:
However, unlike Trish Stratus losing the match that night on RAW, that was not the case for Mercedes Mone. After attacking Thekla with the mask, The CEO found an opening to deliver the Mone Maker, pin the Toxic Spider, and win the match to retain her title.
This marked her first successful PPV title defense since winning the title from Willow Nightingale at AEW All In 2026. Overall, it was her second successful defense after beating Queen Aminata at Grand Slam France earlier this month.
With Mercedes Mone still on top, it will be interesting to see who challenges her next.
