7 Mercedes Mone debut opponents for AEW Big Business

With some reports stating that Mone is already on AEW’s books, it seems safe to now check this one off as a done deal, with our attention now directed towards the event that will host The Boss’ big debut.
This event, as announced by Khan will be known as AEW Big Business – taking place on Wednesday, March 13 in Mone’s hometown of Boston, MA.
With all signs pointing towards a Mone debut, I think it’s about time we put on our speculation caps and figure out who the former multi-time WWE Women’s Champion will be squaring off with first.
While Big Business may not feature a Mone match off the bat, it certainly would be fun to see her get involved in the action right away. Especially with a locker room full of women dying to be the first to step up. So… Who will it be? Let’s find out.

7. JULIA HART

Mone may be destined for the biggest prize in the AEW women’s division, after all she’s likely going to be far and away the highest female earner in the company.
So how about instead of immediately jumping to that inevitable conclusion, we instead see her start her AEW journey by going after AEW’s mid-card prize instead?
Julia Hart has been fantastic since capturing the TBS Championship, however, she does need some worthy competition right now.
Fellow spooky sister Skye Blue or perhaps Willow Nightingale may be more likely candidates to take the title from Hart eventually, but Mone immediately challenging for a title would be pretty wild and a great way to pop the TD Garden crowd.
The problem would be getting the title off her… but that’s a headache TK can deal with later.

6. WILLOW NIGHTINGALE

Since I just mentioned her name, how about we make our case for Willow Nightingale next? Willow is someone who feels on the verge of becoming a breakout star, with her likability and natural infectious charisma making it easy to root for her.
Despite those heights not yet being reached in AEW, she does have something few others can confidently claim: that they defeated Mercedes Mone.
Sure, that win at comes with a major asterisks next to it, with Mone suffering a legitimate ankle injury during their NJPW STRONG Title match back in May – causing the planned finish to be changed and Willow capturing the gold.
But still, it did happen and that was Mone’s last match she competed in. So… Yeah, this one seems like a no brainer on pretty much every conceivable level.

5. GIULIA

That brings us nicely on to the star that defeated Willow for that NJPW STRONG belt – Giulia.
Pretty much all of us expected Giulia to have already signed on the dotted line with WWE by now, however, that seems to have changed at least for now due to STARDOM terminating the contract of their owner Rossy Ogawa.
This has reportedly led to Giulia delaying her move to WWE in order to aid Ogawa in starting his own promotion, so as of right now she could be free to work elsewhere – even if just for a one-off.
So, in theory a match between she and Mone could happen – something that was planned quite a while ago but never came to fruition due to Mone’s injury. Again, this is unlikely, especially with TK seemingly not being a fan of Ogawa, but it would be fun.

4. KAMILLE

Another star who was believed to be WWE bound at one time was former NWA Women’s Champion Kamille.
However, unlike Giulia, who seems likely to still land in Stanford eventually, Kamille seems far more likely to join Mone in AEW.
According to reports, the 31-year-old has been backstage at AEW events and is now in deep discussions with the company.
So perhaps the stars may align and we could get Mone and Kamille debut on the very same night – adding two top contenders to an already stacked AEW women’s roster.

3. BRITT BAKER/JAMIE HAYTER

Cheating a little with a double entry now, but considering we have no real idea when either will return to AEW TV it’s probably wise to just lump them together here.
Both Hayter and Baker can confidently claim to have had two of the best AEW Women’s Championship reigns in the belt’s history – with Hayter reigning for 190 days and Baker 290.
While Hayter is still out injured, Baker’s status has been less clear, however, as reported by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer it is believed that she is also on the shelf with an undisclosed injury.
To be honest, either one returning to face Mone would be great. But what if it was actually both? That would be pretty rad and could set up a nice angle away from the title scene for Mone right away.

2. TONI STORM

Speaking of the AEW Women’s Title, there truly wouldn’t be a bigger immediate splash that Mone could make than challenging Toni Storm on her first day in the company.
As mentioned in our first entry, the pop a title win would get from the Boston faithful would be off the charts and would immediately establish Mone as not only the top female star but one of AEW’s top stars period.
Toni Storm has done phenomenally well with the title, and ripping it away and putting it immediately on Mone does kinda rub me the wrong way; but it certainly would grab the headlines.
Khan has promised that AEW Big Business will be one of AEW’s most memorable nights in its history, and what better way than to prove that true right by pulling the trigger and making Mone’s debut one for the books.

1. SARAYA

If AEW didn’t want to go quite as bold with their booking though, they could instead go with what is probably the most likely of options for Mone’s first opponent.
Saraya and Mone have their fair share of documented history dating back to WWE – most obvious detail being the fact that the former’s in-ring career was affectively ended by Mone back in December 2017.
The incident was obviously not intentional by any means, and thankfully Saraya did eventually make a miraculous in-ring return in November 2022.
But now, given that both women are set to share a company once again, what’s to say that incident can’t be used as kayfabe motivation for Saraya to cut Mone’s time in AEW short as soon as she arrives.
Prior to Mone getting injured back in May 2023, this match was reportedly something discussed for Forbidden Door, when Mone was competing in NJPW.
So clearly it’s been something TK sees some money in and it’s hard to see the negatives, especially as an introductory feud for Mone.
Not only will it keep her from immediately landing in the title scene but it would also do wonders for Saraya, who desperately needs a serious feud to sink her teeth into also. Book it Tony.