{"id":139434,"date":"2025-08-01T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=139434"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:02:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T14:02:51","slug":"mercedes-mone-belt-collector-politics-and-hate-in-aew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/08\/01\/mercedes-mone-belt-collector-politics-and-hate-in-aew\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes Mon\u00e9: Belt Collector, Politics and Hate in AEW"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Mercedes Mon\u00e9, AEW\u2019s TBS Champion, added the PTW Women\u2019s and Bestya Women\u2019s Championships to her collection, becoming 8 Belts Mon\u00e9, the CEO has set another record for women\u2019s wrestling.<\/p>\n

\"A
Photo Credit: AEW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mon\u00e9 is not the first female belt collector. Previously, Viva Van held seven belts simultaneously. However, Mon\u00e9 has now surpassed Van. Who knows which other belts she will acquire? Or will Mon\u00e9 break Ultimo Dragon\u2019s all-time record?<\/p>\n

Many fans are thrilled for Mon\u00e9. Others are apathetic or dismissive of Mon\u00e9, her wrestling skills, and achievement\/s. It\u2019s nothing new. Mone has received plenty of hate and accusations since she left WWE and joined AEW. Part of it is tribal, but not exclusively.<\/p>\n

Becky Lynch has also been compared to Hulk Hogan for consistently winning and having supposed creative control. In contrast to others, Mon\u00e9’s language can often be more personal. Unlike the former Becky 2 Belts, it sometimes reads as if the commenters have an intimate knowledge of Mon\u00e9. As if Mon\u00e9 personally wronged them.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I\u2019ve seen friends and fans who I know are caring, intelligent, empathetic people write and share these certain ugly \u201ctruths\u201d about Mon\u00e9. That Mon\u00e9 is selfish and egotistical. She is an awful person. She\u2019s political.<\/p>\n

That last bit is right.<\/p>\n

Mercedes Mon\u00e9\u2019s belt collector run is political. The issue repeatedly is that some fans, through ignorance or selectivity or something else, are twisting the reality that wrestling is inherently political.<\/p>\n

Politics of an Attraction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Politics is the process of coordination, discussion, agreement, and action between individuals within and between organisations working together to improve their individual and collective status and power. Wrestling is hierarchical but co-operative.<\/p>\n

Politically, wrestlers need to conform to the company\u2019s expectations and environment to be elevated. John Cena redefined what it meant to be the face of the company in WWE<\/a>. Former WWE wrestlers who could not work within AEW\u2019s framework or vision struggled and left. <\/a><\/p>\n

Mon\u00e9 has a cross-media presence and a significant wrestling legacy. Mon\u00e9\u2019s reputation, career in and outside of wrestling, and history put value on her. Compared to those like Swerve Strickland and \u201cTimeless\u201d Toni Storm, Mon\u00e9 did not have to make herself undeniable. Yet, unlike them, she has not captured the world championship.<\/p>\n

Mon\u00e9 wasn\u2019t the first former WWE departure to be treated by AEW and its PR team like a special attraction. Look at Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, and Saraya (at first), etc. Like the former two, Mon\u00e9 is treated as special, meaning she rarely loses.<\/p>\n

Has Mon\u00e9 been a needle-mover in ratings and attendance? Most straightforward surface answer, no. Mon\u00e9 was not an instant game-changer? No. To suggest, through the prism of fantasy booking logic, that Mon\u00e9 should have lost and put someone else over sooner because of this ignores how time and booking can\/did change the tide.<\/p>\n

AEW is making record revenue again this year. To deny that Mon\u00e9 vs. Storm, and Mon\u00e9\u2019s winning streak and belt collection, didn\u2019t contribute to AEW\u2019s biggest domestic gate is a choice.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t Wrestle><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rhetoric suggesting she should lose more often or sooner ignores the logic of maintaining a star\u2019s status or ignores that Mon\u00e9 has found form.<\/p>\n

At first, Mon\u00e9, due to the AEW framework, was exposed as a WWE caricature on the microphone and in the ring.<\/a> Mon\u00e9 had to adjust. Unlike another former Women\u2019s Revolution stalwart, Saraya, Mon\u00e9 adapted. Since last year\u2019s Forbidden Door match with Stephanie Vaquer<\/a>, the idea that Mon\u00e9’s opponents carry her matches ignores two things besides regaining form.<\/p>\n

First, \u201cfloaties\u201d in AEW quickly get exposed. See the booking of like Jade Cargill and Hook. Even if the booking protected Mon\u00e9 to maintain some illusion of mystique and value, isn\u2019t that good business\/smart booking? It was fine for Sting.<\/p>\n

Mon\u00e9 lost her undefeated streak at All In. Elsewhere, former NJPW champion Kazuchika Okada retained his. The belt collector gimmick helps Mon\u00e9 generate buzz and more. A way to distract from the first loss and instead make us question when the next one will happen. Again, clever booking?<\/p>\n

This revisionism buries how, for years, many felt Mon\u00e9 was unappreciated and undervalued despite multiple WWE women\u2019s champion reigns and main-eventing WrestleMania. It presents a straightforward narrative that the craft-conscious, perfectionist wrestlers and passionate fangirls we glimpsed on documentaries or interviews have changed for the worse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an attractive, easy story.<\/p>\n

This is despite her WWE exit and actions since aligning with Mon\u00e9\u2019s past comments about wrestling across the world. It\u2019s another instance of fans using mental gymnastics, Orwellian doublethink.<\/a> Here are some more examples.<\/p>\n

Belt Collector Lore<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mercedes Mon\u00e9 has, at the very least, perceived value that makes international companies, big and small, want her to work for them and hold her championships. If she is conning them, they\u2019ll have evidence from their profit and loss report spreadsheets.<\/p>\n

As a belt collector, the goal-post moving criticisms continue to be contradictory. Mercedes Mon\u00e9 devalues herself by holding independent companies\u2019 championships that some write as valueless, which smells of elitism. It also contrasts with the supposed egotistical diva-ish narrative.<\/p>\n

Another point is that Mon\u00e9\u2019s absences and lack of defenses will hurt those companies, showing a lack of product knowledge. Take Mon\u00e9\u2019s CMLL World Women\u2019s Championship. Zeuxis defended the championship twice in nine months before losing to Mon\u00e9. Mon\u00e9, with one defence in less than 50 days, is already halfway to equaling Stephanie Vaquer\u2019s 285-day reign for title defenses.<\/p>\n

Reading one commentator saying Mon\u00e9\u2019s belts lack the prestige of the belt collector originator, Ultimo Dragon\u2019s, is again revisionism. @Gutsdozer<\/a>\u2019s informative Gorgonian knot cutting video highlights a history of confused and dubious lineages and belts used without permission or recognition from their namesake companies. The eight fused into the J-Crown<\/a> were collectively stronger than the sum of their parts.<\/p>\n

Ignored is how Mon\u00e9\u2019s reign proves her desire to work the indies and wrestle worldwide, and to give back. Something that many male fans are neglecting, despite what female fans and wrestlers say, which contradicts them. It\u2019s that other part of the hate: misogyny, and it\u2019s not tribalism as I\u2019ve covered with AEW. <\/a><\/p>\n

Ironically, taking away these promotions\u2019 championship offers is not just a business decision.<\/p>\n

Giving Back <\/strong><\/h2>\n

A generation of women, fans, and wrestlers grew up idolizing Mon\u00e9. Whether it was the girl sitting in front of me at All In<\/a> doing the CEO dance, or wrestlers like WWE ID\u2019s Zayda Steel,<\/a> who became a wrestler because of Sasha Banks, Mon\u00e9\u2019s travels, victories, and defences are having a double impact.<\/p>\n

Twice in six months, Mon\u00e9 has defended her Rev Pro Undisputed British Women\u2019s Championship twice, encouraging fans to see independent wrestling. Some for the first time. For Mon\u00e9\u2019s opponents, they aren\u2019t complaining. Take Mon\u00e9\u2019s Betsya Wrestling opponent:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSome matches go beyond wrestling. Diana Strong stepped into that ring to face her lifelong idol, Mercedes Mon\u00e9. The match of her life. A once-in-a-lifetime shot.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the end, she broke into tears. Not for the loss. Not for the exhaustion. But because a dream comes true hits you deep inside.<\/em><\/p>\n

In that exact moment, everyone watching knew this was more than just a show.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the power of real sports. This is what raw emotion looks like.<\/em><\/p>\n

Respect. Always.<\/em>\u201d Diana Strong, transcribe and translation from Fightful.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 AEW \u2013 Stay tun<\/em>ed to the\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for more on Mercedes Mon\u00e9, AEW, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. <\/em>You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.\u00a0 You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8 pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their\u00a0YouTube<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Mercedes Mon\u00e9, AEW\u2019s TBS Champion, added the PTW Women\u2019s and Bestya Women\u2019s Championships to her collection, becoming 8 Belts Mon\u00e9, the CEO has set another record for women\u2019s wrestling. Mon\u00e9 is not the first female belt collector. Previously, Viva Van held seven belts simultaneously. However, Mon\u00e9 has now surpassed Van. Who knows which other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4960,"featured_media":139439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4677,2192,317],"tags":[8521,8898,8024,8984,2540],"class_list":["post-139434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aew","category-wrestling","category-women","tag-mercedes-mone","tag-stephanie-vaquer","tag-tbs-championship","tag-timeless-toni-storm","tag-ultimo-dragon"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139440,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139434\/revisions\/139440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}